Meeting News - March 24, 2008 - (Page 30)

Destination Insider: Mississippi Gulf Coast Edited by Rayna Katz rayna.katz@nielsen.com Gulf Coast Will Soon Be Ready for Citywides Signiﬁcant guest room and meeting space additions coming by 2010 Within the next two years, the Mississippi Gulf nos—that the Coast could become a “mini-Vegas.” Coast will be ready to welcome citywide convenDevelopers moved swiftly after the 2005 disaster to tions and trade shows with more meeting space and rebuild Biloxi’s casinos, which in 2007 generated hotel rooms than were available prior to Hurricane more than $1 billion in gaming revenue. New projKatrina, said local indusects either planned or try participants. under construction will “Citywides are someadd more than 300,000 sf thing we always shoot of meeting space and for, and it will be easier more than 1,300 new hotel [to book them] once the rooms in Biloxi alone. convention center For example, Harrah’s —Crystal Johnson, director of sales, expands (related story and singer-songwriter Mississippi Gulf Coast CVB below) and we have the Jimmy Buffett announced additional hotel rooms,” said Crystal Johnson, plans last May for the Margaritaville Casino & director of sales for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Con- Resort, to be built on the Biloxi waterfront. The vention and Visitors Bureau. property will feature 420 new rooms and 378 renoAdded local meeting and event planner Angie vated rooms built from a casino that was formerly Stenum, co-owner of Bay St. Louis, MS-based on the property. The Margaritaville will have 66,000 Imagine That:“In the next three years, there will be sf of meeting space, 250,000 sf of retail space, and a so much new space”—including up to 10 new casi- 100,000-sf casino when it opens in spring 2010. are “Citywidesalways something we shoot for. ” The IP Casino Resort and Spa—one of the city’s two facilities with signiﬁcant meeting space, providing 17,000 sf— has announced plans to expand its meeting facilities. Details on the planned addition were not available at press time. The Mississippi Coast Coliseum & Convention Center played host to the annual TravelSouth Showcase March 1-5, which proved to be a real eyeopener for meeting planners, tour operators, and media, according to Janice Jones, spokesperson for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau. “A lot of them hadn’t been here before and were surprised at how much there is to do,” including outdoor activities like golf and ﬁshing, as well as gaming,” said Jones. “Everything you could do before the storm you can still do now.” She added,“We are ready for some meetings now and are really excited for 2010, when we will have additional meeting space and rooms.” “It’s pretty exciting to be down here and be a part of things… It feels like being in on the ground ﬂoor,” agreed local event planner Suzanne Guice of Biloxi-based Consider It Done. Convention Center Eyes HQ Hotel, Builds Expansion Early this month, the state legislature approved a plan allowing the Mississippi Coast Coliseum & Convention Center, in Biloxi, to lease property it owns that surrounds the building, a move regional tourism ofﬁcials hope will attract a developer to build a convention hotel. Previously, building ofﬁcials did not have the proper leasing to develop the land. A hotel with about 750 rooms would help the convention center be “more proﬁtable and fully utilized,” said Paula April, director of marketing for the The MS Coast Coliseum and CC addition will create 200,000 sf by October 2009. Mississippi Coast Coliseum & Convention Center. Meanwhile, ground was broken last August on a major expansion that will bring an additional 200,000 sf of meeting space to the center. That includes a 125,000-sf exhibit hall (divisible into three sections) and more meeting rooms. The project is scheduled for completion by October 2009. Ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the 180,000-sf waterfront convention center was ﬂooded with ﬁve feet of water, causing the building to shut down for more than a year while repairs were made. The facility reopened in early 2007, but then closed again from July to December of last year. However, the convention center reopened in January and is once again hosting events—including the recent TravelSouth Showcase—although remodeling will continue throughout 2008. Bookings are already being taken for events in 2010, said Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau spokesperson Janice Jones, by which time “we’ll be able to host large meetings at a single facility.” Added April: “We see projections of future business as astronomical. We’re booking business for 2010 that we couldn’t have done without the expansion.” Gulfport-Biloxi Airport Expands, Adds Carriers The revamped passenger terminal at Gulfport Biloxi International Airport opened last month, a key milestone in the airport’s $50-million expansion project that group business customers have deemed critical to the Gulf Coast’s success as a meetings destination. “Our airport deﬁnitely needed this renovation,” said meeting and event planner Angie Stenum, coowner of independent firm Imagine That, in Bay St. Louis, MS. The new 165,000-sf terminal, expanded from 92,000 sf, can accommodate 2.4 million travelers annually. The baggage area was expanded and two gates were added, along with security lanes and four restaurants, including an outlet of the Lazy Magnolia, a local microbrewery. A $15-million parking garage and a pair of airport hotels, slated to open this spring, are under construction. No further details were available on the hotels. The improvements greatly enhance the airport’s continued on page 34 www.meetingnews.com 30 MeetingNews March 24, 2008 http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - March 24, 2008

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