Meeting News - November 10, 2008 - (Page S12)

26 Greenville 85 85 Spartanburg 385 77 26 Columbia 20 95 20 Florence 501 Myrtle Beach Pawleys Island Isle of Palms SOUTH CAROLINA 26 Sands Resorts Makes Conference Center Upgrades Sands Resorts in Myrtle Beach, SC, has completed the first part of a two-phase renovation to its 20,000-sf conference center. Completed in September, Phase I included the installation of webcam equipment—allowing out of towners to take part in meetings, new LCD monitors, and a new audio system. Phase II will debut in spring 2009 with a new business center, executive boardroom, and hospitality suites for 10 to 30 people. “We’re excited about the upgrades and improvements being made,” said Florence Collins, vice president of marketing, Sands Resorts. “We strive to provide the most up-todate equipment and services for meetings, and these changes will enhance the more than 20,000 sf of function space.” Both phases of the conference center work Charleston 95 Hilton Head Island are part of larger renovations already completed at the adjoining Sand Dunes Resort Hotel and Ocean Dunes Resort & Villas, which, combined, offer over 800 rooms. Those renovations encompassed the resorts’ lobbies and restaurants and included the addition of wireless Internet access throughout.the properties. I KENTUCKY Louisville Goes for a Slam Dunk with Downtown Basketball Arena Future Louisville Cardinals home will welcome groups as much as fans Ground has been broken on Louisville Arena, a new basketball venue in Louisville, KY, that will double as a downtown meeting facility. When it opens near the 300,000-sf Kentucky International Convention Center in November 2010, the 717,000-sf arena will be home to the University of Louisville men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as 32,000 sf of meeting space across four meeting rooms. Designed to be party suites during games, those rooms will be equipped with flat-panel televisions and wireless Internet access. Three of them—including the largest, the 12,000-sf ULA room—will boast views of the Ohio River, which the $350 million arena faces. According to Harold Workman, president and CEO of the Kentucky State Fair Board, groups will be able to rent the entire 22,000-seat arena for large meetings and convention gatherings; the arena floor alone will be able to accommodate more than 1,500 attendees. “We’re planning to host groups who want to be downtown but didn’t previously have the large space for their main gatherings,” Workman said. “Now what they’ll be able to do is hold some of their breakouts at the convention center and hold their main meeting—with their whole group in one place—at the arena.” Louisville’s 1,291-room Galt House Hotel & Suites, which offers over 124,000 sf of flexible event space, will connect to the Louisville Arena via an elevated skywalk, the same kind that already connects the hotel and other downtown accommodations to the Kentucky International Convention Center. I www.meetingnews.com Louisville Arena will allow buyouts when games are not played. S12 MeetingNews November 10, 2008 http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - November 10, 2008

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