One can’t be blamed for thinking a city that is sometimes referred to as the “Insurance Capital of the World” might be a little on the button-down side, but a splashy new convention center and the reemergence of Hartford, Conn.’s downtown core as a vibrant oasis of fine dining and entertainment is positioning the area as an emerging meetings destination.
“It opens up a lot of new doors, because we’re attracting groups that were never able to meet in Hartford before,” says Michael Van Parys, vice president of sales for the Greater Hartford CVB, about how the new Connecticut Convention Center and other urban improvements are putting the destination on the radar screens of larger meetings. “We’ve got over 40 three- and four-star restaurants within waking distance of the convention center, from phenomenal sushi to exceptional Italian. We’re seeing larger groups that are spreading around the city and bringing a lot more economic impact than just for hotels.”
Van Parys says that because the city is located within a two-hour drive of 23 million people—and is within a half-hour of Bradley International Airport—the destination is a now more of a natural for large groups.
“We’ve had groups of up to 9,000,” he says, adding that the 10,000-delegate-strong United Church of Christ is coming to celebrate its 50th anniversary this month, and is planning to bring presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, who arguably packs a lot of “wow” himself, as its featured speaker.
Van Parys says the United Church of Christ is using Bushnell Park—designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the Hartford native who designed New York City’s Central Park—for a portion of the event. The park also boasts an amphitheatre and a vintage carousel.
Hartford’s setting along the Connecticut River allows for a variety of activity options, such as enjoying outdoor theater performances, walking along riverside trails, holding special events in a boathouse, setting up a ropes course for team-building programs, or watching dragon boat and hydroplane races at various times of the year.
The biggest news in the last two years was the opening of the 540,000-square-foot Connecticut Convention Center, which overlooks the Connecticut River and is the largest convention center between New York City and Boston.
The convention center, in the nearly $1 billion Adriaen’s Landing retail and hotel development that is revitalizing the city’s riverfront, is attached to the new Hartford Marriott Downtown, and will soon welcome another neighbor that is stealing its thunder—the Connecticut Science Center.
The Science Center, designed by world-renowned architectural firm Cesar Pelli & Associates, is scheduled to open by the end of 2008 and bring a wealth of interesting new special event venue choices.
Like many other cities on the East Coast, Hartford is transforming many buildings that were originally purposed for insurance companies, financial institutions and the like into 21st century event venues.
“We have some really beautiful large venues, such as Joe Blacks [Restaurant & Pub], which used to be a bank and is now a restaurant with a banquet facility, and we also have a large department store downtown that was converted to a community college that overlooks the main streets of Hartford,” Van Parys says. “Hartford definitely still has all of the main insurance companies based here, but we’re using their beautiful architecture.”
