February 2008 | Virginia Beach | By Selena Chavis

Center Steps Into The Ring As A Contender For Groups

Site Visit By Selena Chavis
If it’s all about positioning, Virginia Beach, Va., a well-celebrated leisure destination with miles of beaches, is a re-invented city that’s found new ground in the meetings industry and is a contender for attracting mid-sized groups. I learned this first hand recently when I visited the city and had the chance to tour its new convention facility.

“We are starting to book some pretty significant national business,” said Al Hutchinson, director of convention sales for the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau, emphasizing that the city can accommodate events for as many as 3,000 attendees.

In less than two years since my last visit, I’ve witnessed a number of new additions and expansions to the resort city, including the Four-Diamond Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront, the 176-room Hilton Garden Inn Virginia Beach Town Center and the 236-room Westin Virginia Beach Town Center, which houses more than 15,000 square feet of function space in a “metropolitan” atmosphere.

These properties complement the newly opened Virginia Beach Convention Center and a newly opened performing arts center.

The green-certified convention center offers 500,000 square feet of state-of-the-art meeting space, is situated blocks from the beachfront and is a stylish complement to the surrounding resort ambiance. A 147-foot glass tower sets the center apart from others and contains a boardroom, a VIP lounge, an observation deck and a café.

The recently completed exhibition hall provides more than 150,000 square feet of space, and a 31,000-square-foot ballroom and five meeting suites can be subdivided into 26 meeting areas. Along with a warm, wood-paneled interior, the ballroom has programmable LED lighting that provides special effects.

Among the 12,000 hotel rooms citywide, 3,500 committable guest rooms are located within a two-mile radius of the center. And, Hutchinson revealed that discussions are under way to attract a headquarters hotel to support the convention center and to develop an entertainment district that brings the beach and convention area together.

The elegant and dynamically designed Sandler Center for the Performing Arts combines Virginia Beach’s emerging urban atmosphere with its beach town charm. For events, the facility features a 1,300-seat theater.

Also new since my last visit is a spa at the Founders Inn. Located on 26 acres, the Founders Inn and Spa houses 25,000 square feet of function space and is an exquisite, Four-Diamond facility. Its Flowering Almond Spa is the city’s first full-service spa connected to a hotel property.