Much is happening in the inland portions of the Magnolia State, where planners will take comfort in an influx of new hotels and meetings-equipped facilities, and where attendees will enjoy Southern hospitality at its finest.
From metropolitan Jackson’s arts and culture scene and Vicksburg’s casino action to the bustling offerings of Hattiesburg, Meridian and Starkville—three university towns—the region extends a variety of options for planners looking to book an affordable meeting in an inviting, easily accessible environment of Mississippi, fittingly nicknamed the “South’s Warmest Welcome.”
Jackson
Served by Jackson–Evers International Airport, Mississippi’s capital city is in the midst of major changes that will pique the interest of planners, according to Mara Hartmann, spokesperson for the Jackson CVB, who says Jackson is welcoming additions that will allow the city to accommodate bigger groups.
“We’ve always had a lot of meetings, but we didn’t have the space for larger meetings,” she says. “We’d love to go after regional, national and international groups that we couldn’t book before.”
To that end, the city is unveiling its convention center district in phases through 2008. Phase one brought the Mississippi TelCom Center, a three-story, 74,000-square-foot conference facility, in January 2006.
“It’s a small, intimate venue that’s state-of-the-art and luxurious,” Hartmann says, adding that it will be joined by the Capital City Convention Center sometime in 2008. “The convention center, which will likely be renamed, will be connected to the TelCom Center. When they are one, they will form the apex of the district.”
Neighbors in the district include the Thalia Mara Hall performing arts center; the Russell C. Davis Planetarium; and the Mississippi Museum of Art, which is moving into a new, larger location and renovating to the tune of $11 million by June.
The compact convention center district boasts walkability for delegates and also includes historic Farrish Street on its north side.
“It’s being transformed into an entertainment district by a group out of Memphis that re-did Beale Street,” Hartmann says, citing a number of Farrish Street’s upcoming hot spots, including B.B. King’s Blues Club, King Biscuit Blues Cafe and Mississippi Barbecue Company.
While Farrish Street is scheduled for completion by mid-2007, the Jackson Marriott Downtown underwent a nifty $12 million renovation a year-and-a-half ago, and the King Edward Hotel, closed for decades, will reopen after extensive renovations around the time that the convention center opens its doors, according to Hartmann.
Yazoo City, situated to the northwest of Jackson, is touted as the Gateway to the Delta by the Yazoo County CVB. This agriculturally and historically rich area features attractions ranging from antebellum homes and sacred Indian mounds to the Oakes African American Cultural Center, which is available for off-site events.
Meridian
Meridian, home of one branch of Mississippi State University (the other is in Starkville), is a quaint college town/retirement community that welcomes many regional group events, according to Withrow Newell, spokesperson for the Meridian/Lauderdale County Tourism Bureau.
According to Newell, several developments contribute to the city’s meetings appeal, namely the September 2006 opening of the MSU Riley Center, a restored opera house with both performing arts events and conference space, and the scheduled opening of the Hilton Garden Inn Meridian in March. The hotel will join group-friendly properties such as the Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites and the Best Western Meridian, with meeting space for up to 300 people and 250 people, respectively.
Newell notes that Meridian Community College also has several function spaces, including an auditorium for up to 150 people.
“The mayor is trying to get an arts district set up to correspond with the Riley Center,” he adds, explaining that the area holds the future sites of both the Southern Jewish Heritage Museum and the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center, a venue similar to the Riley Center that was put on the back burner after Hurricane Katrina hit.
To the northwest of Meridian in Choctaw, Miss., is Pearl River Resort, which encompasses Dancing Rabbit Golf Club, live entertainment venues and two properties connected via skywalk and featuring Las Vegas-style gaming: the Golden Moon Hotel and Casino and the Silver Star Hotel and Casino, which boasts a spa and 40,000 square feet of meeting space.
Hattiesburg
Hattiesburg is another friendly college town—the University of Southern Mississippi is based here—that is also undergoing changes in its meetings infrastructure.
Chief among the town’s developments, according to Kristie Fairley, tourism manager at the Hattiesburg CVB, was the October 2006 opening of the Courtyard by Marriott Hattiesburg; the 2006 conversions of the former Hawthorne Suites to a Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites and the former University Inn to a La Quinta Inn and Suites; and the openings this year of Hilton Garden Inn, Candlewood Suites and Microtel Inn and Suites properties.
“Hurricane Katrina affected our room availability for nine months, and now it’s on the increase,” Fairley says.
Complementing Hattiesburg’s group-friendly hotels is Lake Terrace Convention Center, which has hosted a good deal of state and regional conventions since it opened in 1998, according to Fairley. Within five minutes of the convention center are attractions such as art galleries, restaurants and gift shops.
“Camp Shelby National Guard Base is also here, so we get quite a bit of military meetings in the area,” she says.
Vicksburg
With several casinos lining its piece of the Mississippi River and a handful of new hotel projects on deck, Vicksburg is poised to accommodate groups seeking both business and pleasure.
The town’s newest addition is the Hampton Inn and Suites, which opened in May 2006 with meeting space for up to 90 people, Internet access in all guest rooms and truffles at turndown, according to Colleen May, director of marketing and sales at the Vicksburg CVB. Additionally, there is a new Wingate Inn property opening this year, and the former Isle of Capri is sporting a new look and a new name, Diamond Jack’s Casino.
Joining Diamond Jack’s are three more waterfront casinos: Ameristar, Horizon and Rainbow. May points out that all of the casinos are within close proximity to the Vicksburg Convention Center and Auditorium.
“If we could get every Mississippi association to meet here, we’d be thrilled,” she says, citing that a good mix of state and regional group business books Vicksburg. “We are conveniently located halfway between Dallas and Atlanta, and Memphis and New Orleans.”
When in town, planners are encouraged to have delegates visit attractions such as Linden Plantation and Gardens, where they’ll enjoy a lovely tour, and Anchuca Historic Mansion and Inn, where they can indulge in a gourmet lunch at Cafe Anchuca.
Starkville/Greenwood
The Starkville CVB has recently forged a relationship with the Division of Academic Outreach and Continuing Education at Mississippi State University, based here.
“We want to go after different meetings and assist with meetings that book on campus,” says Arma Salazar, vice president of tourism with the Starkville CVB, explaining that with the CVB’s assistance comes free services that the university would normally charge for, such as registration setup and dine-around reservations.
Meetings-equipped facilities in town include larger spaces on the MSU campus, including the 10,000-seat Humphrey Coliseum and the Hunter Henry Alumni Center, as well as 707 guest rooms in various hotels, including the historic Hotel Chester. This spring, that number will jump when the Hilton Garden Inn brings 200 more rooms, according to Salazar, who adds that two more hotel projects are also in the works.
“We’re really emerging as a meetings destination, with interest from hotels and more retail options,” she says, adding that the town already offers great nightlife, dining opportunities and bustling neighborhoods, including the Cotton Crossing district, located between campus and downtown.
Greenwood, about an hour-and-a-half from Starkville, is a small-group destination that mainly caters to board meetings and various training sessions that tie into the community’s largest employer, the Viking Range appliance manufacturer, according to Suzy Johnson, executive director at the Greenwood CVB.
A couple of years ago, the corporation developed The Alluvian Hotel and The Alluvian Spa, situated across the street from one another, to house guests in town for Viking-related business.
“It’s an upscale hotel for an upscale appliance,” Johnson says.
She adds that on the bottom floor of the spa building is a cooking school, and the town has welcomed big names from the culinary world, such as Emeril Lagasse and Paula Deen.
“For a little-bitty town, we also have great restaurants,” she says, citing the decades-old Crystal Grill.
Johnson also mentions that the Mississippi Delta is famous for the blues—Robert Johnson is buried in Greenwood—and that Greenwood is getting ready to open a Blues Trail. The first 10 markers were placed in December and about 20 more will follow.
About 40 minutes away in Indianola, Miss., the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center—an attraction that will no doubt be visited often by groups booking the area—is scheduled to open in 2008.
For More Info
Greenwood CVB 662.453.9197
www.gcvb.com
Hattiesburg CVB 601.268.3220
www.hattiesburg.org
Jackson CVB 601.960.1891
www.visitjackson.com
Meridian/Lauderdale County Tourism Bureau 601.482.8001
www.visitmeridian.com
Starkville CVB 662.323.3322
www.starkville.org
Vicksburg CVB 601.636.9421
www.vicksburgcvb.org
Yazoo County CVB 662.746.1815
www.yazoo.org
