With a rich mix of urban development, unforgettable heritage and breathtaking natural beauty, Alabama is a Southern standout that is quickly climbing up planners’ destination lists.
From cruising with the dolphins along the Gulf Coast to training with the Tigers at Auburn, walking with civil rights heroes in Montgomery and Birmingham, and even taking the long road on the acclaimed Robert Trent Jones (RTJ) Golf Trail, the state has unique appeal for groups.
Mountains Region
Between Civil War history and space-age business, the cities of Alabama’s northern mountains region have achieved a balance of preservation and progress.
While brains often reign in the Huntsville meetings market due to Cummings Research Park, brawn is making its mark as well.
“The sports market buys the most room nights,” says Yvonne Boyington, vice president of conventions for the Huntsville/Madison County CVB. “We’re fortunate to have a healthy mix of group types, but amateur sports are a major market for us.”
The city is also in a building phase, with several new meetings-ready hotels coming on-line. Last year, the Embassy Suites Huntsville opened and is connected via skywalk to the Von Braun Center. The Bridge Street Town Centre retail and entertainment project, featuring the Westin Huntsville, is slated to open by April. Other hotels opening in the next two years include a SpringHill Suites and a Courtyard by Marriott.
A wealth of diversions await attendees in Huntsville, including walking tours of pre-Civil War homes; a few rounds at the Hampton Cove golf course, the first stop on the RTJ Golf Trail; and receptions at one of the most popular venues for off-site events, the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, which will open the event-friendly Davidson Saturn V Center in January.
More Earthly icons are remembered in nearby Florence and Lauderdale County. The birthplace of Helen Keller and blues legend W.C. Handy, the area also has Civil War history, including Wesleyan Hall, a temporary headquarters for Gen. William T. Sherman, where he uttered his most famous phrase, “War is hell.”
Meetings business is also hot, according to Alison Stanfield, assistant director for Florence/Lauderdale Tourism, mainly because of the Marriott Shoals Hotel, Spa and Conference Center, built in 2005 near the RTJ Golf Trail.
“In 2006, our lodging numbers increased 45 percent over the previous year,” she says.
The 88-unit Hampton Inn and Suites Florence–Downtown is slated to open in January with 1,200 square feet of function space.
Metro Region
With a mix of sports, jazz, history, and Southern charm, the metro area of Birmingham and Tuscaloosa represents a vibrant, bustling region that remembers the importance of its past.
In Birmingham, two sites were picked by National Geographic Traveler as unique to the city: the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the Bare Hands Gallery, an art gallery that carries works only by local artists.
Both sites are popular stops for groups, as well as Barber Motorsports Park, which houses the largest collection of vintage motorcycles in the world; the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame; and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. All three sites welcome group events.
As a city of history and inspiration, it’s easy to see why the religious and sports markets are drawn here, along with associations, according to Michael Gunn, vice president of sales for the Greater Birmingham CVB.
“Ideally, we can handle groups with 800 to 1,000 rooms per night, but that will increase with the addition of new hotels slated for downtown,” he says.
More than $100 million is being invested in development downtown, including a $52 million project to renovate the former Regions Financial building into a hotel.
The Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex was recently expanded and renovated, and the Sheraton Birmingham recently received a facelift.
In nearby Hoover, the Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort and Spa offers 259 guest rooms, 20,000 square feet of function space, an 18-hole golf course on the RTJ Golf Trail, and a new on-site golf training academy.
Tuscaloosa is one of the greatest college sports towns in the South, but there’s more history and culture here than one would imagine.
“Tuscaloosa is a cosmopolitan city rather than a metropolitan city,” says Beakie Powell, director of meetings and conventions for the Greater Tuscaloosa CVB. “We have theater, symphony, many art museums, and a lot of cultural activities, in addition to being the ‘Football capital of the South.’”
Those options are multiplied by the amenities on the University of Alabama campus, including the Alabama Museum of Natural History, concerts and shows at the Moody Music Building, the Paul W. Bryant Museum, and the famous Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The city is experiencing an influx of hotels. Cambria Suites, Wingate Inn, Staybridge Inn, Microtel Inn and Suites, and Candlewood Suites should break ground within the next 18 months. In addition, the Hilton Garden Inn Tuscaloosa debuted in June.
High hopes abound for a 2008 groundbreaking on a proposed convention center, and the River Walk, a retail, dining and residential development, is 75 percent complete, Powell says.
Among the existing properties favored by groups are the Four Points by Sheraton Tuscaloosa Capstone, the Bryant Conference Center and the Ferguson Center, located on the University of Alabama campus.
River Heritage Region
The cities of Montgomery, Auburn and Opelika brim with world-changing history and culture.
In the state capital of Montgomery, the Alabama State Capitol building is a National Historic Landmark, noting the spot where Jefferson Davis became the Confederate president, and where Martin Luther King Jr. made his famous speech at the end of the civil rights march from Selma. With the Rosa Parks Museum, Civil Rights Memorial and King Memorial Baptist Church, the city’s new slogan, “Meeting here makes a difference,” is quite apropos.
Other attractions, like the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and Hank Williams Museum, celebrate lighter aspects of culture and history.
The city relies heavily on both regional and national associations, says Dawn Hathcock, vice president of the Montgomery Area COC/CVB.
“Our ideal group is 500 to 1,000 people, although we host the Air Force Information Tech conference annually, which draws 5,000 to 6,000 people,” she says.
The city will be able to handle more once renovations are completed on the Montgomery Civic Center, due to reopen in February as the Montgomery Convention Center, with 70,000 square feet of exhibit space, a 1,200-seat performing arts center and an adjacent 347-room Renaissance hotel featuring a 14,000-square-foot ballroom. An entertainment district being developed around the center is slated to open by late 2008.
Just outside the city, the Montgomery Marriott Prattville Hotel and Conference Center at Capitol Hill recently added 9,000 square feet of meeting space.
The great outdoors calls in Auburn and Opelika, from the Grand National course on the RTJ Golf Trail to the roar of an Auburn Tigers football game.
While attendees can enjoy special activities like golf tourneys and Tigers fantasy camps, another top option is the Raptor Rehab Center, which rehabilitates golden and bald eagles.
Celebrate Alabama, an upcoming development in north Opelika, will contain a retail and entertainment district, up to three hotel properties and a conference center.
Area meeting facilities include the Auburn/Opelika Marriott Hotel and Conference Center at Grand National and the Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.
Between Auburn and Montgomery is the Tuskegee University Kellogg Conference Center.
Gulf Coast Region
From the sugar-white beaches of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach to fishing and sailing off the coast of Mobile Bay, Alabama’s Gulf Coast is a year-round group playground.
“We have a very family-oriented atmosphere,” says Beth Gendler, director of sales for the Alabama Gulf Coast CVB, which represents Gulf Shores and Ocean Beach. “Many attendees will bring their family along and extend their stay.”
Golf is a popular diversion and groups can also hold a sunset cruise reception or catch a dolphin-watching excursion. While there are hiking trails, shopping and museums, most delegates can’t resist the relaxing beaches.
Meeting facilities include the Perdido Beach Resort and the Beach Club Gulf Shores. Plans are also under way for a 68,000-square-foot convention center and 450-room hotel at Bama Bayou, an entertainment district.
Mobile Bay was first American city to host Mardi Gras back in 1703, and it celebrates that distinction with the colorful Mobile Carnival Museum, which is a popular off-site venue, as is the USS Alabama battleship.
While history is a high point, Mobile Bay is also looking toward the future.
“We feel like a new destination with so much new product coming in,” says Steve Pierson, vice president of sales for the Mobile Bay CVB. “It’s an exciting time for us.”
Joining meetings-friendly options such as Grand Hotel Marriott Resort on the RTJ Golf Trail, the Hampton Inn and Suites Mobile Bay is slated to open next fall. Meanwhile, the Riverview Plaza and Lafayette Plaza were extensively renovated and reflagged as Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel and Holiday Inn Mobile Downtown/Historic District, respectively, and the historic Battle House hotel reopened as the posh new Battle House, A Renaissance Hotel.
Plans are also under way for a new car racing park and entertainment venue spearheaded by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his siblings.
Mobile Bay’s main group venue is the Arthur R. Outlaw Convention Center.
For More Info
Alabama Gulf Coast CVB 251.974.1510
www.gulfshores.com
Auburn and Opelika Tourism Bureau 334.887.8747
www.aotourism.com
Florence/Lauderdale Tourism 256.740.4141
www.flo-tour.org
Florence/Lauderdale Tourism 256.740.4141
www.flo-tour.org
Greater Birmingham CVB 205.458.8000
www.birminghamal.org
Greater Tuscaloosa CVB 205.391.9200
www.visittuscaloosa.com
Huntsville/Madison County CVB 256.551.2230
www.huntsville.org
Mobile Bay CVB 251.208.2000
www.mobile.org
Montgomery Area COC/CVB 334.261.1100
www.visitingmontgomery.com
