High-energy Charlotte has always attracted groups with its get-up-and-go personality, and the city’s latest developments add even more excitement for planners.
According to Bill McMillan, director of group sales for the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, group business is holding strong, with a hearty mix of corporate, association and fraternal groups coming to town, in addition to the traditionally large sports market. He has noticed that meetings clients are increasingly interested in breakout space, as they add value to conventions by offering an assortment of educational sessions, and that booking windows continue to shrink, even for larger groups.
Fortunately, Charlotte’s hotel portfolio is experiencing a growth spurt (see Latest & Greatest sidebar, page s8), and there are numerous off-site venues available, some new offerings and some longtime favorites.
“Probably the biggest hotel news is the huge two-tower Starwood renovation,” McMillan says.
The $20 million dual-branded development project added both a Le Meridien and a Sheraton, with more than 600 total guest rooms and 55,000 square feet of meeting space.
In addition, a new Hyatt Place opened directly across the street from the Charlotte Convention Center and NASCAR Hall of Fame.
“It’s small, but the location is terrific and the rooms are huge since the building was originally designed to be used as condos,” McMillan says, reporting that the Hyatt Place has been extremely popular with guests and has been almost continually sold out since opening in October.
Plans are also in the works for a new Embassy Suites property nearby, but construction had not officially begun at press time.
The sports fans and youth teams that regularly flock to Charlotte will join meeting planners in celebrating the opening of the BB&T Ballpark close to Uptown. The first pitch will be thrown April 11, when the Knights, the AAA affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, set out to defend the “Queen City” against the visiting Norfolk Tides. PageBreak
The new stadium has a seating capacity of 10,000 and expects to draw in 600,000 visitors in its first year of operation.
The ballpark will be available for group functions year-round, with notable venue spaces including a suite lounge, which can accommodate 250 people reception-style; a tiered home plate club with views of the Charlotte skyline; an outdoor rooftop party space down the first base line and a 30-person terrace.
The team will also debut glitzy new logos this year to match the modern ballpark.
Amber Williams, special events manager for the Knights, says there will be more booking flexibility on non-game days, but groups are welcome to rent out suites and watch the on-field action. In addition, the standard lineup of baseball team-building options—batting cages and fantasy games on the field—will also be available.
The park is close to the hotels and businesses in Charlotte’s walkable downtown area and across the street from the lush new five-acre Romare Bearden Park, named after the famous Charlotte-born artist best known for his textured collages. The $11 million park opened last summer and offers several garden spaces that can be reserved for private events.
Charlotte’s classic sports venue, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, remains a popular option, filled with interactive exhibits and plenty of “eye candy,” according to McMillan. “One of the things that people often don’t realize is that you don’t have to be a NASCAR fan to appreciate and enjoy the NASCAR Hall of Fame,” McMillan says. “I had to drag my teenage girls out of there. They loved it and they definitely don’t like racing.”
Hall of Fame visitors can change a tire, drive a simulated car, or learn how to use a jack, and planners love the space because they don’t have to worry about decorations when there are millions of dollars’ worth of fancy cars on display.
Meanwhile, at Charlotte Motorway Speedway in nearby Cabarrus County, groups can experience NASCAR action firsthand via a driving school, tours and pace car rides. The speedway recently added the 100-person Winner’s Circle Lounge and the 300-person Champions Pavilion to its infield event spaces.
The U.S. National Whitewater Center is another adrenaline-pumping attraction for groups. While Olympians and the U.S. National Team hone their kayak competition skills on the customizable course, the waterway can also be used recreationally by visiting attendees. Set on 1,300 acres along the Catawba River, the center can facilitate zipline rides, canopy tours that wind through hardwood trees, team-building programs and spirited adventure races. Meeting facilities include a conference center, a large covered pavilion and a tented patio overlooking the rapids.
Charlotte’s cultural offerings are also heavy hitters and the dining scene is evolving as new chefs regularly emerge from the culinary program at the city’s Johnson & Wales University. For down-home Southern cooking, McMillan recommends Kings Kitchen, one of several restaurants in the area led by Chef Jim Noble. Besides the excellent food, the restaurant is nonprofit, donating 100 percent of its proceeds to help feed the hungry and employing Charlotteans who are in need of a little help getting back on their feet.
Meanwhile, the Levine Museum of the New South and the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture offer venue space and insight into the city’s history.
