BRING YOUR MEETING TO VIRGINIA BEACH
This haven for vacationers is fast becoming a meeting and convention hot spot.

It used to be that Virginia Beach's white sand, blue skies, boardwalk, and "Mom and Pop" hotels/motels made it an ideal family vacation spot. But that was then. Virginia Beach today is an outstanding convention des- tination with a world-class convention center, a burgeoning number of convention hotels - and a 17-block mixed-use Town Center with a 236-room Westin Hotel, upscale retail, dining, and condominium component, and The Sandler Performing Arts Center set to open this year. For Shelley Frost, CMP, director, convention and educational programs for the Association of Old Crows (the nonprofit organization engaged in the science and practice of Electronic Warfare and Informa- tion Operations), "Virginia Beach offers a true convention atmosphere."   * At the center of it all is the striking, architecture award-winning, glass-walled Virginia Beach Convention Center.

"The convention center was one of the main features attracting us to Virginia Beach," said Lynn Brewer, vice president of meetings and education, American Bus Association, who booked her 2008 3,000-delegate meeting here.

The center offers more than 500,000 square feet of event space - a 150,000-square-foot column-free ex- hibit hall, divisible into four halls; a 31,029-square-foot ballroom with 35-foot ceilings; and five meeting suites, which can be divided into 26 breakout rooms. The exhibit hall floor features an etched grid of 10' x 10' squares for easy set up and load-in, and utilities are accessed under the exhibit floor. The exhibit halls also can host large group events, using portable tiered seating.

The ballroom has LED lights that can be customized to display the colors of your association. The 90-foot wide prefunction space features video walls and convention offices. High-tech communication (including wireless access) is available throughout the building.

The center's convention services get high marks from planners. Two convention service managers (CSMs) provide continuous service to each meeting - one in the morning; the other, in the afternoon and evening. "I wish other convention centers would adopt the brilliant team concept of convention service managers," Frost said. "Each person is equally informed about the meeting. Neither works on a show immediately before, after, or during your meeting." She called the center's catering "outstanding." It earned similar high marks from Chris Bushey, area developer for Liberty Tax Service, whose 1,200-attendee international convention last June held its evening events at the center.

Hotels
Virginia Beach has 11,000-plus guest rooms within easy distance of the convention center. "When we were planning the center, everyone knew we needed a new hotel product," noted Mayor Meyera Oberndorf. "The city owned the land, which was part of an oceanfront park. So, the Hilton was part of a public-private partnership to bring more meetings to Virginia Beach," she explained.

The new four-star quality Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront features 291 guest rooms, including 14 suites, and 12,000 square feet of banquet and conference facilities. The 7,130-square-foot ballroom is divisible into three sections; one overlooks the ocean. Six smaller meeting rooms are close by. There is also a spacious prefunction area with oceanfront balcony, and outdoor dining areas and rooftop Sky Bar.

The refurbished Sheraton Oceanfront Hotel offers 198 guest rooms and 15,000 square feet of flexible meeting space. Planners can choose the 3,290-square-foot Capes Ballroom, divisible into three sections, or the 5,700-square-foot Ocean Grand Ballroom, which divides into four sections. The adjacent Ocean Grand Foyer is perfect for breaks or tabletop displays; an additional four breakout rooms are also available.

Adjacent to the Virginia Beach Convention Center, the 292-room Doubletree Hotel Virginia Beach recently upgraded its rooms and public space with a Hilton-grade product, and a Max & Erma restaurant set to open this spring. The hotel offers 12,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 5,014-square-foot ballroom, and 7,000 square feet of additional meeting space.

The 18-acre Cavalier Hotel offers 50,000-plus square feet of space in three facilities:

• Cavalier on the Hill, listed on the register of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, offers 100 guest rooms and 16,000 square feet of meeting space.
• the more contemporary Cavalier on the Ocean features 300 guest rooms, a 5,160-square-foot Coral Reef Room divisible into five sections, three additional meeting rooms, and a 1,440 square feet function room on the 11th floor.
• the Cavalier Beach Club Conference Center offers a 16,320-square-foot oceanfront Beach Club Ballroom divisible into three sections, three smaller meeting rooms, and an outdoor deck.

The oceanfront Ramada Plaza Resort, in a more secluded setting away from the boardwalk, offers 246 guest rooms and 16,000 square feet of flexible meeting space. The 4,674-square-foot Cape Colony Ballroom and the 5,218-square-foot Atlantic Ballroom can each be divided into three sections. The 1,855-square-foot Surf Club is divisible by two. The restaurant is undergoing a $1.5 million renovation.

The Virginia Beach Resort Hotel and Conference Center has views of the Chesapeake Bay and Bay Bridge Tunnel. With a beach situated east/west, attendees are treated to sunrise and sunset. The hotel offers 295 rooms and 16,000 square feet of meeting space, including the 3,344-square-foot Chesapeake Ballroom; the 3,000-square-foot Sunset Ballroom; three smaller meeting rooms divisible by two; and two additional meeting rooms.

The IACC (International Association of Conference Centers)-approved Founders Inn, on 26 landscaped acres, offers 240 guest rooms and 24,000 square feet of meeting space in 20 meeting rooms. The 12,876-square-foot Virginia Ballroom is divisible into five sections. The conference center features a 78-seat amphitheater and 11 additional IACC-approved meeting rooms. In a popular team-building activity, teams prepare and enjoy their own gourmet meals.

Help With Planning Your Meeting
The staff of the Convention and Visitors Bureau influenced our decision to meet in Virginia Beach, said both Frost and Brewer. "They have been most helpful in planning all stages of our show, and are working hard to get the community and the entire state involved in hosting us," Brewer said.

"The CVB staff makes you feel important. When you call - 12 to 16 months before your meeting - they know who you are; they don't have to look you up on the computer. That makes you feel loved!" Frost concluded.

Contributing Editor Sara Torrence, CMP, is the presi-
dent of Sara Torrence & Associates, a meeting and events
planning consulting firm in Gaithersburg, Md. She is the
author of How to Run Scientific and Technical Meetings.

Sara Torrence, CMP:
"There's more to Virginia Beach than the beach," Jim Ricketts, director of the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau, told me. "There is a tremendous buzz of change and evolution here."

The force behind this evolution is a public-private partnership. Development of the new convention center involved a focus group of area citizens. "Public money is being invested for the public good," said Meyera Oberndorf, mayor of Virginia Beach. "Government funds provide the infrastructure such as parking lots, which encourages the private sector to bring the 'economic engine' of hotels and upscale business to Virginia Beach."

• "Virginia Beach attracts people from colder Northern climates, and is easy to get to,"
  said Chris Bushey, Liberty Tax Service. Lynn Brewer, American Bus Association, agreed. "One reason for our selecting Virginia Beach was the ease of getting in and out of the city, and its many attractions."

Alternative Sites

•  Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center - with beautifully designed exhibits on the journey of water through Virginia, this venue can accommodate up to 2,500 attendees. The Pavilion Room is available for daytime rental for groups up to 125 people. The 300-seat IMAX theater is also available for evening rental.
• Contemporary Arts Center of Virginia (CAC) - offers a 4,800-square-foot atrium, a professional kitchen, which may be used by licensed caterers of your choice, and can accommodate groups up to 450. A highlight is the 1,600-square-foot Rodriguez Pavilion with its 16-foot Dale Chihuly Venetian glass chandelier. Price Auditorium, with 268 fixed seats, a 15' x 30' screen, computerized lighting, sound, and video projection, can be rented.
• The Sandler Center for the Performing Art - to open in late 2007, can accommodate groups when performances are not scheduled - up to 1,821 people in prefunction space on each level and the outdoor performance plaza; 337 in the rehearsal hall; 60 in the Founders Room; and 1,200 seated in the theater.
• Chesapeake Bay Center - a perfect special events venue for 75-100 people, it features the First Landing Room, which displays each step of the landing of Europeans in Virginia. A gazebo off of the entrance hall may be used for outdoor functions.