Northeast

Friday, Jan 29

Making room for meetings.

New hotel properties, major sports stadiums, conference centers — someone forgot to tell the Northeast we were in a recession. New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts all boast new venues, big and small.

Two new sports stadiums opened in the New York area in the last year, with more on the way, while Springfield, Mass., and Hartford, Conn., added new museums. Hotels are popping up in several cities, even if later than expected; Boston and New York are making up for the lack of new properties across the country. Renovations of historic properties are resulting in interesting special venues throughout the region.

The lesser-publicized cities in the region have their share of exciting news coming off this low tide in the economy. Cities throughout the Northeast Corridor promote their proximity to major metropolitan areas: Pennsylvania cities Valley Forge and Lehigh Valley points to the large concentration of meeting facilities and attractions nearby while still being within an hour or two of Philadelphia and New York, making for easy accessibility to even more outstanding entertainment options.

Or like Providence, R.I., many destinations relish the fact that they aren’t among the more media-targeted top-tier cities. “This new economic paradigm is really an opportunity for Providence,” says Martha Sheridan, president/CEO of Providence Warwick CVB. “Our city is within driving distance of about one quarter of the U.S. population, making it an easy, cost-effective trip for meeting attendees. While Providence has enjoyed a lot of media buzz in the past couple of years, it is still a practical alternative to glitzier destinations that may, albeit unfairly, give the perception of being a junket.”

Destination Q&A: Providence

A native Rhode Islander, Martha Sheridan has 20 years of destination marketing experience. She has been president and CEO of the Providence Warwick CVB since 2006 returning to the organization where she spent much of the 1990s.

What are some highlights and attractions in Providence?
Providence is home to seven colleges and universities, including Ivy League Brown University, the world-renowned Rhode Island School of Design, and the world’s largest culinary educator Johnson & Wales University. This gives Providence the vibrancy and sophistication of a big city, while still maintaining the quaintness and walkability of a small town. Groups love the Rhode Island School of Design’s Museum of Art, which spans the centuries through its collection of more the 84,000 works. The Culinary Museum at Johnson & Wales is quirky fun, with a collection of more than 500,000 artifacts relating to food, including a diner exhibit. (Providence is the birthplace of the diner.)

Why is Providence a good choice for meetings in 2010?
The size of Providence allows a meeting or convention to virtually “take over” the city, receiving a warm welcome and easy access to Providence’s renowned restaurants and vibrant arts and cultural community. Promoting these features of our city will be our primary marketing strategy for 2010.

What’s available for groups that want to meet green?
The PWCVB and several other statewide hospitality and tourism organizations have created the Rhode Island Hospitality Green Certification Program. This self-certification program assists hospitality and tourism businesses with attaining green performance standards, focusing on energy and water conservation, waste minimization and recycling, and sustainable operating and purchasing practices. Participants are required to complete a workbook measuring their current business practices, and qualifying partners receive Green Hospitality Certification. More than 20 hotels and the R.I. Convention Center have received certification.

What gifts represent the city?
Providence is a culinary hot spot, with Federal Hill at its epicenter. Named one of the Top 10 Little Italys in the U.S. by Mario Batali and USAToday, Federal Hill boasts great restaurants and great food chops. Locally made pastas, cheeses, cookies and sauces are great for gift baskets. Some of the standout shops include Venda Ravioli and Scialo Brothers Bakery.

What do you recommend for families that may tag along?
Providence is an extremely walkable city, with plenty of shopping, dining and entertainment options within blocks of the R.I. Convention Center. For the family, the Providence Children’s Museum is an active place where kids and grown-ups play and learn together. Roger Williams Park Zoo is the third oldest zoo in the country (since 1872) The zoo’s population numbers nearly 1,000 animals, with some 165 species on display at any given time, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects. For winter fun, the Bank of America Center lets families take to the ice and skate in the heart of the city. The Center boasts 14,000 square feet of ice, more than double the size of Rockefeller Center’s rink in New York. For a one-of-a-kind experience, drop into the Big Nazo Puppet Lab, where larger-than-life puppets are created for use at festivals all over the world.

What historic sites are in the area?
Founded in 1636, Providence is believed to have a larger percentage of buildings on the National Historic Register than any other U.S. city, with scores of immaculately preserved Colonial, Federal, Greek Revival and Victorian homes and buildings. Benefit Street, often called the “Mile of History,” is the most impressive collection of original Colonial homes in the U.S. — with 200 pristine 18th and 19th century buildings, brick sidewalks and antique gas lamps. The city is also home to the first Baptist church in America and the Providence Athenaeum, one of the country’s oldest libraries and cultural centers, which first opened in 1753.

What tours show off the city?
Trolley Tours of Providence offers tours of the city for individuals or groups. You can also give your taste buds a tour with Chef Cindy Salvato. She offers culinary tours of Federal Hill, as well as an oyster tour that includes a visit to a nearby oyster farm and a culinary demonstration by one of Providence’s best chefs. Visitors can explore Providence’s historic dark side through Providence Ghost Tours, which are available May-November. Romantics will enjoy floating through the rivers of Providence on an authentic Venetian gondola. Rides are available during the warm weather months. Fast food junkies will want to make a pilgrimage to Haven Brothers, a diner on wheels that parks nightly at Providence’s City Hall. Both Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira have named Haven Brothers their all-time favorite diner.

What about the performing arts?
The performing arts are also a big part of Providence culture, led by Tony Award-winning Trinity Repertory Company. Music lovers will enjoy the Rhode Island Philharmonic and Opera Providence. Theatergoers can enjoy performances from companies such as the Perishable Theater and the Providence Black Repertory Company. For dance enthusiasts, there is the Festival Ballet Providence. Perhaps one of the most popular regular arts events in Providence is Gallery Night. More than 20 local galleries and museums in Providence have banded together to create the monthly event. On the third Thursday of each month (March-November), a free bus loops throughout the city and stops at participating galleries, art shops and museums for visitors to experience Providence’s arts scene.

Are any festivals that might be of interest to groups?
Providence’s signature event is WaterFire, a multi-sensory experience that has drawn hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city. This series of bonfires installed on the three rivers of downtown Providence entices with aromatic wood smoke, flickering firelight and the enchanting music. The event occurs several times a month from May to October.

In June of 1772 brave colonists from Rhode Island burned the British revenue schooner, HMS Gaspee, in what has become recognized as the first overt action leading to the American Revolutionary War. For the past 45 years the village of Pawtuxet, R.I., located south of Providence, has commemorated this act with their annual Gaspee Days Celebration. Over the course of two weeks, dozens of activities are scheduled including an arts and crafts festival, a parade, a road race, fireworks and more.

Are there any outdoor venues for meetings or special events?
In the heart of the city and easily accessible from most Providence hotels, the Bank of America Center is available during the ice skating off season. The Roger Williams Park Temple to Music, made of Vermont marble, was dedicated in 1924 and was a gift from a local olive oil merchant. Since its dedication, the Temple to Music has served as a graceful gathering place for concerts, festivals and other events. Nearby Warwick is home to the beautiful Aldrich Mansion, which features spectacular grounds with breathtaking views of Narragansett Bay.

On the Horizon

New York City expects 61 hotel developments — about 50 of which are new buildings — between 2009-2011. Those developments will add 15,500 guestrooms, bringing the city’s massive hotel inventory to 90,000 by the end of 2011.

In 2009, new rooms were added at properties including The Standard in the Meatpacking District, The Mark and The Surrey on the Upper East Side, The MAve Hotel and the Ace Hotel near Madison Square Park, and SoHo’s Crosby Street Hotel, while planned hotel openings for early 2010 include W Hotel Downtown, Andaz Wall Street, Trump SoHo, The Chatwal, Sheraton Tribeca and the Sheraton Brooklyn. The Javits Center, which currently has 760,000 square feet of exhibit space, is undergoing a 100,000 square foot expansion that will add 40,000 square feet of new exhibition space.

The National September 11 Memorial and Museum opened a preview site in August 2009 with information for the public and real-time construction images of the progress of the memorial and museum set to open in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

The Northeast sports world has been busy with the opening of Yankee Stadium and the Mets’ Citi Field in New York for the 2009 season. Future openings include the Meadowlands’ 25,189-seat Red Bull Arena, home of the MLS New York Red Bulls, and the 82,500-seat New Meadowlands Stadium, home of the NFL New York Giants and New York Jets. Both stadiums are set to open for the beginning of each sport’s 2010 season. Events in New Meadowlands Stadium will be able to accommodate 10-80,000 people in venues that range from the private Commissioner’s Club to the field itself.

In Lake George, N.Y., a $1.2 million renovation of the Holiday Inn Resort included its guestrooms, lobby and outdoor recreational center. The 129-room hotel has two meeting rooms including a 90-seat theater that can accommodate up to 125 when the Lake George Dinner Theatre is not in production. Lake George is also in the works to convert the former amusement park Gaslight Village, to a 9,000-sq.-ft. venue available for meetings, concerts, expos and mini-trade shows by the end of 2010. A modern, 57-room boutique hotel is in store for Buffalo’s Franklin Street. The $19 million hotel project by local restaurateur Mark Croce is set for completion in late 2010. In July 2009, Embassy Suites opened in Buffalo’s Central Business District. The 150-room hotel boasts a 3,500-sq.-ft. ballroom, boardroom and business center.

Pittsburgh’s new 720,000-sq.-ft., $321 million Consol Energy Center, which will be home to the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins as well as various performances and tournaments, has a projected September 2010 opening, while a $12 million, 5,500-seat indoor/outdoor entertainment complex with a two-sided stage is planned to open summer 2010 next to Heinz Field. Pittsburgh also saw a host of hotel properties open in 2009 with more in the works for the new year. A 185-room Fairmont Pittsburgh with 12,000 square feet of meeting space and 6,000-sq.-ft. ballroom is set to open at Three PNC Plaza March 2010.

Boston hotels saw more than $500 million of renovations completed by the end of 2009. The Sheraton Boston Hotel & Towers’ $50 million renovation included 800 newly-designed guestrooms, new lobby space and the Club Lounge; the hotel has more than 23,000 square feet of meeting space. The 121-room Best Western Tria Cambridge completed a $10 million renovation and expansion, and Cambridge welcomes the upscale Hotel Veritas this month. The $10 million, contemporary, 30-room hotel opens to the eastern end of Harvard Square through a rebuilt carriage house.

The reflagged, 270-room Crowne Plaza Boston-Newton (formerly Sheraton Newton) opened after a $10 million renovation. The hotel features 6,700 square feet of meeting space. The 234-room W Boston Theatre District Hotel opened October 2009 with a Bliss Spa, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Market restaurant and Descent, a nightclub created by famed NYC nightclub owner Sasha Petraske, as well as 5,000 square feet of meeting space. The 114-room Ames Hotel by Morgan Hotel Group opened November 2009 near historic Faneuil Hall and Beacon Hill with a gallery that can accommodate a 50-person reception.

The Museum of Springfield History opened in October. Exhibits that include Indian Motorcycles, a Gee Bee airplane and a Springfield-built 1928 Rolls Royce all honor the “City of Firsts.”