Meeting News - June 16, 2008 - (Page 22) Hotels/Resorts Foxwoods Wagers Big On MGM Property with Major Meeting Space Mashantucket, CT—The MGM Grand at Foxwoods debuted last month adjacent to the existing Foxwoods Resort Casino, bringing 115,000 sf of new meeting space to southern New England. The $700-million, 828-room resort includes a 50,000-sf ballroom, a 15,000-sf junior ballroom (divisible into 12 breakout rooms), and another dozen meeting rooms. The new 4,000-sf theater at the hotel also can be used as function space, particularly for general sessions, said Joan Esneault, vice president of resort sales at Foxwoods. The MGM Grand’s meeting space is separate from the existing 45,000sf-conference facility at Foxwoods Resort Casino,. “We wanted to have two distinct brands,” she said. Still, the hotels are connected via walkway, and some groups will use the meeting space at both, said Esneault. Also, the new space is expected to benefit from the MGM branding. “It will bring us more national sales recognition for corporate meetings and some national association meetings that we weren’t able to attract before,” Esneault predicted. The increased availability of breakout space also should help the MGM conference center attract pharmaceutical groups, which generally could not be accommodated at the older facility at Foxwoods’ Grand Pequot Tower, she added. —Bob Curley golf, and more. The $15-million entertainment center, which has not yet been named, will also provide a new meeting venue, as it will include three party rooms and a terrace. “At Kalahari, we’re taking our entertainment offerings one step further to offer guests a unique indoor experience,” said president and owner Todd Nelson. “We expect our new entertainment complex to be of great interest to our convention groups for creative meetings, which may include teambuilding activities, such as the ropes course.” Kalahari currently offers a 125,000-sf indoor water park, a 100,000-sf convention center, 742 guest rooms and suites, a spa, eight dining options, and three shopping outlets. Whoosh! Kalahari Adds More Attractions & Function Space Wisconsin Dells, WI—For groups that bring their families to meetings—or for the big kids among attendees—Kalahari Resort and Convention Center will open a 110,000-sf entertainment complex in December, featuring a six-story Ferris wheel, a carousel, a ropes course with a zip line, laser tag, go carts, 24 bowling lanes, miniature Jack Daniel’s and Ducks Rule in the Home of the Blues emphis, TN—As part of a collaboration with Jack Daniel’s to promote the 75th anniversary of the Peabody Ducks (a tradition that started with a bit too much of the whiskey from Tennessee), the Peabody Memphis has created a Jack Daniel’s banquet bar for meetings and events. The themed bar will offer only Jack Daniel’s whiskeys, including Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Black Label, Gentleman Jack, and the Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel, all selected for the 464-room hotel. M The banquet bar will include two authentic whiskey barrels from the Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Lynchburg, TN, a six-foot statue of Jack Daniel, logo-emblazoned mirrors and beverage napkins, and trivia cards with facts about the man and the brand. The signature element of the Jack Daniel’s banquet bar will be flights of whiskey: one-ounce tastings of the three Jack Daniel’s whiskeys served on beverage placemats describing the nuances that make each whiskey unique. According to legend, in 1933 The specialty JD bar for groups at the Peabody looks like this. the Peabody’s general manager returned from a whiskey-soaked weekend hunting trip and slipped live duck decoys into the hotel’s lobby fountain, creating one of the hospitality industry’s most eccentric traditions. Since then, every day at 11 a.m. a red carpet is unfurled, John Philip Sousa’s King Cotton March is heard in the lobby, and the Peabody Ducks—led by a “duckmaster”—ride down the elevator and march to the lobby’s marble fountain. At 5 p.m., the ceremony is reversed: The ducks retire for the evening to the Royal Duck Palace, which is on the hotel’s rooftop. Fort Lauderdale’s Meeting Biz Gets a Cloudy Forecast Ahead Fort Lauderdale, FL—Efforts to lure big conventions here have been dealt a big blow. Tourism officials were working toward getting a luxury hotel built next to the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, but state attorney general Bill McCollum ruled last month that officials cannot spend tourism tax money to help fund the hotel project. The county has been exploring a pledge of up to $21 million a year in tourism taxes and convention center revenue to support construction of a 1,000-room Hilton, which won the bid last fall. Now, it is reviewing what had been its second choice, a Marriott, possibly making the project not feasible and almost surely delaying construction. Rio Mar is Now Wyndham’s Flagship Grand Property Rio Grande, Puerto Rico—After shedding its Westin flag in 2006, the 600-room Rio Mar Golf Resort, Casino & Spa joined Wyndham www.meetingnews.com 22 MeetingNews June 16, 2008 http://www.meetingnews.com
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