Virginia’s Hampton Roads region is where salty air, marshes, beaches, and America’s earliest history mingle with top-drawer facilities to create a meetings destination with enough diversity to please most any group. Hampton Roads is a perfect choice for sunbathing, boating, golfing, museums, theater, history, shopping—and business-ready venues.
Virginia Beach
Construction is now complete on the nautically themed, 516,000-square-foot Virginia Beach Convention Center (VBCC), and the destination is ready for meetings of any size, says Al Hutchinson, director of convention sales for the Virginia Beach CVB.
“We now are marketing for international and national meetings, as well as statewides and local groups,” Hutchinson says. “Not only is the convention center fully operational, but we also are opening several other new facilities by this fall.”
Coming this fall is the 234-room Westin Hotel at Town Center, the downtown central business and gathering district. The Westin will offer 10,000 square feet of meeting space, including an 8,800-square-foot ballroom.
The 1,200-seat Sandler Center for the Performing Arts is also opening in Town Center this fall, showcasing local, regional and national artists.
Town Center’s array of dining, shopping and entertainment stops continues to multiply. Among the newcomers is Gordon Biersch Brewery, while other establishments include Ruth’s Chris Steak House, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Cheesecake Factory, and Sonoma Wine Bar.
Meanwhile, The Founders Inn and Spa has a new $5 million spa, fitness and aquatic center with six treatment rooms, a private area for relaxation and meditation, personal care stations, an expanded fitness center, and a heated indoor pool.
Other meetings-friendly properties include the Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront, the Sheraton Oceanfront and the venerable Cavalier Hotel.
One of Virginia Beach’s main visitor attractions, the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center, is undergoing a $24 million renovation that will upgrade exhibit areas with new technologies to make them more interactive.
Norfolk
Norfolk’s $36 million cruise terminal, the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center, recently debuted with 80,000 square feet of event space for up to 400 people. Included are a grand rotunda and 13,000 square feet of outdoor deck space. Groups that book the facility will enjoy expansive views of the Elizabeth River and occasionally, calls by some of the world’s largest cruise ships.
The cruise center is one of the many new attractions gracing Norfolk, which has undergone a downtown renaissance in recent years, giving visitors the opportunity to enjoy dozens of new restaurants and shopping venues, in addition to the new Waterside Festival Marketplace entertainment center and its adjacent Town Point Park, spotlighting shows, sporting events and concerts.
Coming in 2008 is a new 240-room Hilton hotel with 23,000 square feet of meeting space.
Norfolk’s current lineup of meetings-ready properties includes the Norfolk Marriott Waterside Hotel, featuring the 60,000-square-foot Norfolk Waterside Convention Center. The center connects via skywalk to the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside, the city’s only waterfront hotel, which is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation.
Hampton
Hampton continues to upgrade the features of its premier meetings site, the Hampton Roads Convention Center.
The city of Hampton recently announced the $200 million Crossroads Development project, which will add a full-service hotel and 2,000-seat theater to the site that presently has the convention center, the Embassy Suites Hampton Roads Hotel and Spa and the 84,000-square-foot Hampton Coliseum arena. One of the project partners is Gaylord Entertainment/Corporate Magic. The first phase of the project will include the hotel, a 2,200-space parking garage and 35,000 square feet of mixed-use facilities.
“Hampton and Hampton Roads are adding new tourism product monthly,” says Sallie Grant-DiVenuti, executive director of the Hampton CVB. “Whether it is updating existing attractions with new galleries, such as the new Space Gallery at the Virginia Air and Space Center, or new hotels, restaurants and retail, Hampton and Hampton Roads is continuing to reinforce its family-friendly atmosphere and offerings, and at the same time the region is increasing its presence in the conventions and meetings market with the new Hampton Roads Convention Center.”
Peninsula Town Center is also under way only a few blocks from the convention center and most of the city’s hotel inventory. Scheduled for completion in late 2008, it will replace the Hampton Coliseum Mall with a new lifestyle activity hub replete with shopping and dining spaces.
Other developments under construction include the Boo Williams Sportsplex, a $13.5 million, 135,000-square-foot venue that will feature facilities for basketball, hockey, volleyball, and track and field events. The complex is scheduled for completion in March 2008.
Special events and evening receptions in the Virginia Air & Space Center are more exciting than ever, now that the first phase of a new gallery, Space Quest: Exploring the Moon, Mars & Beyond, is open. When the gallery is finished in 2008, it will offer encounters with the solar system via video projections of actual space vehicle flyovers.
Williamsburg
The history of America’s founding continued from Jamestown in the 17th century into nearby Williamsburg in the 18th century. Groups that book facilities in this living history museum, centered on Duke of Gloucester Street, are in the epicenter of Virginia’s Historic Triangle, says Lisa Pacheco, conference sales manager for the Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance.
“Williamsburg beckons groups to a meetings experience they can only find in Virginia’s Historic Triangle,” Pacheco says. “Our bureau is the planner’s one-stop liaison for 10,000 guest rooms in 19 conference hotels, three international airports, five major attractions, and 14 world-class golf courses in and around Williamsburg.”
Colonial Williamsburg Hotels has completed a total rebuild of its Williamsburg Lodge. Now 60 percent larger than before, the lodge is completely hooked up with Wi-Fi Internet access, and it features 45,000 square feet of meeting space, 322 guest rooms and suites, and a new 21,000-square-foot spa. The new hotel expands the brand’s meetings-ready portfolio, which also includes the Williamsburg Inn and the Woodlands Hotel and Suites.
Other meetings-friendly Williamsburg hotels and resorts include the new Great Wolf Lodge Williamsburg; the Williamsburg Marriott; and the Kingsmill Resort and Spa, which has an IACC-certified conference center.
Newport News
Newport News is the location of the new $30 million, 63,500-square-foot USS Monitor exhibit, which just opened in the Mariners Museum. Included are a full-scale replica of the Civil War-era ship and artifacts, original documents, paintings, personal accounts, and interactive experiences that recall the 1862 battle that sunk the Navy’s first ironclad warship.
In addition to new attractions, Newport News is significantly expanding its facility options for meetings.
Six new hotels opened in Newport News last year. The list includes the Newport News Marriott at City Center Hotel and Conference Center, with 256 rooms and event space for up to 1,000, and the Omni Newport News Hotel, with 182 guest rooms and function space for up to 450.
Meanwhile, the Ferguson Center for the Arts at Christopher Newport University is another recently opened facility that offers 300,000 square feet of venues.
Restaurant and retail spaces are also coming online in City Center at Oyster Point and elsewhere around town.
Chesapeake
The development buzz around Chesapeake concerns this fall’s opening of Towne Place at Greenbrier.
The 170,000 square-foot, open-air center will feature nine restaurants, upscale retail stores, pedestrian walkways, and a large outdoor plaza for outdoor dining and entertainment. It will be located less than five minutes by car from the Chesapeake Conference Center and hotels such as the upcoming Hyatt Place, a trendy new brand from Hyatt Hotels that will open at Towne Place at Greenbrier this fall. Guest amenities will include complimentary Wi-Fi Internet access, 42-inch high definition TVs and the signature Hyatt Grand Beds.
Additionally, Holiday Inn Chesapeake will close early this month for a major renovation and reconstruction. When it reopens next year under the Marriott flag, it will have modern enhancements and expanded meeting facilities.
Groups convening in Chesapeake can take advantage of easy access to Hampton Roads’ many attractions and recreational sites, such as the 763-acre Northwest River Park, offering fishing, paddle boating, canoeing, hiking, biking, and a ropes course.
Off-site venues in and around Chesapeake include the Chesapeake Arboretum, featuring a “natural classroom” setting amid acres of woodlands, themed gardens and trails.
Portsmouth
Olde Towne Portsmouth harkens to Art Deco days and a couple of decades beyond, when the downtown district was the center of local civic and social life. Today’s fresh face complements its rich heritage with many contemporary cafes, gift and specialty shops, restaurants, and entertainment options, as well as the new Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.
Portsmouth’s IACC-certified Renaissance Portsmouth Hotel and Waterfront Conference Center has 24,000 square feet of meeting space, including a tiered amphitheater with high-tech amenities.
The Hawthorn Hotel and Suites, housed in a restored Art Deco building, is another favorite meetings option in town.
Suffolk
History is also on tap in Suffolk, with its 17th century lineage, dating back to Capt. John Smith’s encounters with Nansemond Indians.
Sites along the Virginia Civil War Trails project as well as historic homes and neighborhoods all reflect Suffolk’s colorful past. Visitors also enjoy exploring the Great Dismal Swamp, one of America’s few remaining wilderness preserves. A canal boat tour through the swamp is one group option, and the natural attractions include wildlife such as bears, bobcats and otters.
Meetings options include the 150-room Hilton Garden Inn and Suffolk Conference Center, which offers 14,000 square feet of meeting space.
Among the city’s off-site venues are the National Guard Armory, with 7,000 square feet of function space, and The Planters Club, a waterfront facility with a catering kitchen.
For More Info
Chesapeake Conventions and Tourism 757.502.4898
www.visitchesapeake.com
Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance 757.229.6511
www.visitwilliamsburg.com
Hampton CVB 757.722.1222
www.hamptoncvb.com
Newport News Tourism Development Office 757.926.1400
www.newport-news.org
Norfolk CVB 757.664.6620
www.norfolkcvb.com
Portsmouth CVB 757.393.5327
www.portsva.gov/tourism
Suffolk Division of Tourism 757.923.3880
www.suffolk-fun.com
Virginia Beach CVB 757.385.4700
www.vbfun.com
Virginia Tourism Corporation 800.811.4296
www.vatc.org
