It’s always been green in Southwest Florida, where environmental treasures encompass more than a million acres of nature preserves and wildlife attractions, and life on Gulf of Mexico shores glides along at a sail’s pace.
From Charlotte County’s Island Bay National Wildlife Refuge, one of only four coastal marine wilderness areas in the U.S., down to shells ankle deep on the beaches of Sanibel Island and wood stork sightings in Naples’ Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, this stretch of Florida coastline stretches way beyond what many visitors expect when they envision eco adventures.
Yet in between the airboat rides and swamp buggy tours is a growing infrastructure for meetings that is making room for new conference venues among the greenery.
Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf Islands
After more than four years of planning, the Charlotte Harbor Event & Conference Center is set for a soft opening this December and a grand opening in January. And it is expected to launch this virtually undiscovered slice of Old Florida onto the meetings playing field as the $19 million facility readies itself to welcome sports events and meeting groups.
“We already have several events booked, one a statewide gymnastics competition,” says Becky Bovell, director of the Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf Islands Visitors Bureau. “It’s opening new doors, and we’re looking for great things from it.”
The multipurpose center will include a 20,000-square-foot main hall that can be configured into three smaller halls, with space for 112 exhibit booths and 1,500 people seated theater style. Theatrical stage rigging and lighting, additional meeting rooms, office areas and a full kitchen serving up to 700 are in place to handle events, while a plum location on the Peace River in downtown Punta Gorda puts attendees within walking distance of shopping, restaurants, hotels and a marina.
The sports side of events will get a boost as Major League Baseball comes to Charlotte Harbor with the Tampa Bay Rays, who will make the revamped Charlotte Sports Park their spring training facility this February. Undergoing a $46 million renovation and set to open in January, the park will feature six major league-caliber baseball fields, a lighted 7,000-seat stadium and a 40,000-square-foot clubhouse.
“Also, there’s a minor league team owned by Cal Ripken, and he’s relocating his team to Charlotte County,” Bovell notes. “So we’ll have lots of baseball.”
Lots of other advantages are on deck for groups as well, including increased service at Charlotte County Airport, which unveiled a new $5.5 million terminal last year and will start welcoming scheduled flights from Direct Air this month.
In addition, the area is expecting over 500 new hotel rooms by the end of 2009. Among the new flags that will be flying over Charlotte County are the Hilton Garden Inn, the Four Points by Sheraton Harbor Resort and Yacht Club and the Wyvern Hotel—all located in downtown Punta Gorda near the conference center—along with a new La Quinta Inn & Suites, a Sleep Inn and a Microtel Inn & Suites with a 600-square-foot meeting room.
Of course, where more people gather, dining and attractions aren’t far behind, and downtown Punta Gorda has a number of projects on the horizon, including The Loop, a 200-acre development of retail, residences, offices and a hotel, and the Sunloft Center, a mixed-use venue blending retail and restaurants with office space and residences.
Closer to its opening date is Muscle Car City, set to debut in January or February on the site of a former Wal-Mart, with a private collection of more than 200 cars ranging from the vintage 1950s to the muscle car ’70s, including every Corvette made from 1954 to 1975. A ’50s-style diner, memorabilia shop and space for group functions will be part of the mix.
Groups also are likely to plan excursions aboard the new Charlotte Queen paddlewheel boat, which is slated to start sunset and dinner cruises from Laishley Marina in late fall 2009.
“We think it will be a real boost to the convention center,” Bovell says. “The new hotels and attractions coming on-line are transforming the area into a destination that is very viable for both meetings and leisure. Our natural amenities, including our incredible harbor and all of our opportunities for ecotourism, will help sell this.”
Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel
Also focused on all things green—and blue—is the Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel, which recently opened a third phase of the Great Calusa Blueway, offering nearly 190 miles of clearly marked waterways and trails that lead paddlers into wildlife-rich areas that include aquatic preserves, creeks, bayous and mangrove forests. GPS coordinates and maps keep paddlers on track through a course charted 2,000 years ago by Calusa Indians.
“Besides historical attractions and activities, eco-based experiences are the biggest draw to the beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel,” notes Suya Davenport, executive director of the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau. “USA Today has cited our destination as among the top bird-watching areas in North America. And our population of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins is one of the largest in the world.”
Groups can immerse themselves in local landscapes at places like the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island, which recently installed a video camera on its observation tower, allowing visitors to “spy” on roosting and feeding birds. Cayo Costa, a barrier island accessible only by boat or ferry, features unspoiled white-sand beaches, rustic cabins and campsites that double as vantage points for wildlife observation. Meanwhile, the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Fort Myers just debuted the county’s first certified “green” building—a new Interpretive Center—featuring a bamboo ceiling, non-toxic fiber cement siding and exterior decks made of recycled products, including plastic grocery bags and sawdust.
On the historic side, the Edison & Ford Winter Estates—former seasonal retreats of inventor Thomas Edison and automobile pioneer Henry Ford—sprawl across 20 acres of botanical gardens on the Caloosahatchee River, with nine National Register Historic buildings to explore and off-site group venues such as the newly restored Caretaker’s House, which can host up to 40, and the Ford Riverside Lawn, with waterfront space for up to 250.
In fact, when it comes to larger gatherings, Fort Myers and Sanibel are thinking big, as the downtown Harborside Event Center is set to undergo a major—and long-awaited—expansion.
“It’s clearly outgrown its 42,000 square feet of meeting space,” Davenport says. “In order to become a more competitive facility and attract larger-scale conventions, trade shows and consumer shows, the center must expand.”
To that end, a development team has been commissioned to not only enlarge the facility—adding a river-top ballroom and breakout rooms—but develop the entire downtown waterfront with retail, restaurants, entertainment areas and additional boat dockage. The project is currently being negotiated and is scheduled to get under way by the end of the year, according to Rose Bernal-Rundle, the Harborside’s general manager.
In the meantime, large and mid-size groups are taking advantage of the extensive meeting space and amenities of such properties as the Hyatt Coconut Point Resort & Spa, Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa, South Seas Island Resort, Sundial Beach & Golf Resort, DiamondHead Beach Resort and Pink Shell Beach Resort & Spa.
New on the hotel scene are smaller meetings-friendly properties, including a 134-room Courtyard by Marriott and the 80-unit Candlewood Suites Airport, Fort Myers. Meanwhile, the 60-room Hotel Indigo, the area’s first boutique property, is slated to open this month.
“The addition of these smaller properties, along with their proximity to our airport, Interstate 75 and downtown activities, has definitely increased smaller group bookings,” Davenport notes.
Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades
Smaller-scale properties are also making news in Naples, Marco Island & the Everglades, where the 85-room Hotel at Naples Bay opened in February, and the 102-unit SpringHill Suites by Marriott Naples is on target for a November debut. In addition, the Inn of Naples recently renovated its guest rooms and meeting space, while the Marco Island Lakeside Inn—the area’s only Superior Small Lodging property—received that organization’s White Glove Award for a 100 percent cleanliness rating.
The smaller properties, which also include the historic Inn on Fifth, join a full roster of properties geared toward midsize and large groups, such as The Ritz-Carlton, Naples and The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples; Naples Grande Beach Resort; Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club; La Playa Beach & Golf Resort; Hilton Naples; GreenLinks Golf Resort & Conference Center; and Bellasera Hotel.
It all makes for more variety, especially for delegates bringing family along for a pre- or post-meeting getaway, which a significant number of attendees do, says Debi DeBenedetto, tourism sales and marketing manager for the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB.
“It’s a good source of business for us,” she says. “Our resorts and hotels always offer pre and post rates for group attendees, and in this economy, it’s a good way to turn a conference into a family vacation.”
With the Everglades minutes away, along with boating excursions into the Ten Thousand Islands, nature walks at Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and treks through the new Big Cypress Market Place shopping and entertainment center, it might seem that spouses and families are having all the fun, but there’s more than enough to keep groups entertained during off-hours.
Ngala Reserve and the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens both host dining events in a jungle-like atmosphere, while team-building strategies are staged within the cypress forests of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary by Adventure Training Concepts, which also arranges Indiana Jones and Survivor-type group events.
The area’s vibrant dining scene translates into further choices for group experiences.
“Dine-around events offer participants a choice of multiple downtown restaurants,” DeBenedetto says. “We often assist in planning a combined cocktail reception at a central location, followed by dinner and a choice of nearby restaurants, then back to the beginning location for dessert.”
A sweet ending to a day showcasing the best of Florida.
For More Info
Greater Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB 239.252.2384 www.paradisecoast.com
Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel 239.338.3500 www.fortmyers-sanibel.com
Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf Islands Visitors Bureau 941.743.1900 www.charlotteharbortravel.com
