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The Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center comprises several venues in the heart of downtown Long Beach. Credit: Visit Long Beach
According to Steve Goodling, CEO of Visit Long Beach, “a convention should be a source of pride for the people who live there. Many residents drive by their convention centers, but they never get to experience them.”
It was only around four hours into my first visit to Long Beach, but I had already figured out that a lot of locals don’t just drive by. Instead, they associate the city’s convention complex with some of their favorite memories. It was early December, and the plaza outside the Terrace Theater — the 3,000-seat entertainment venue in front of the Long Beach Convention Center — was packed with more than 7,000 locals for an annual holiday festival that culminates with the lighting of a 67-foot-tall Christmas tree.
When Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson took the stage, he showed how the city’s elected leaders are fully behind the importance of reminding the community about what meetings mean to Long Beach. “Luxury hotels don’t open in decaying downtowns,” Richardson said. “They open in thriving downtowns.”
In December, Long Beach celebrated its 10th annual Christmas Tree Lighting.
The Community Gets It
It was clear from how the mention of that luxury property — the 185-room Fairmont Breakers, which had just finished a top-to-bottom renovation about a week before my arrival — sparked a roar of applause from the crowd that local residents understand how the business events industry buoys the local economy. Most of the holiday revelers present live only a few miles away, and barring a staycation, they likely aren’t ever going to stay at the property. Still, they can see that all the guests who book rooms and attend meetings at the convention center next door will play an essential role in the city’s continued success. (Disclaimer: I stayed at the five-star hotel during a hosted media fam trip sponsored by Visit Long Beach.)
In Long Beach, it goes both ways: The local community is seamlessly connected to the convention center and out-of-towners attending events at the center also feel immersed in the community — thanks in part to California’s seventh-largest city having one of the most walkable downtowns in the country. I took a quick stroll over to Ammatoli for some of the best Mediterranean food I’ve ever sampled, checked out an impressive vinyl collection at longtime retailer Fingerprints Music, and ordered a beer from Dave at House of Hayden, all in the space of a leisurely few hours. That opportunity to feel like a local helps attendees feel like they’ve had more than a convention experience — they got to be part of the energy in Long Beach.
District Wine sits just a handful of blocks away from the Long Beach Convention Center.
Interested in learning more about how Long Beach is reimagining the attendee experience? Visit visitlongbeach.com/meetings to discover why groups like the NAACP and the U.S. Conference of Mayors are heading there.
