Meeting News - November 10, 2008 - (Page S8)

Robinsonville Tunica Batesville Oxford MISSISSIPPI Vicksburg Columbus Greenville 55 Philadelphia 20 Meridian Jackson 55 Collins Mother Natures Trio of Hurricanes Doesnt Deter Mississippi Coast Coliseums Ambitious Expansion In the wake of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which tore through the southern United States this summer, construction crews once again have resumed work on a massive expansion of the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center in Biloxi. The $68 million addition was significantly delayed in 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina, and while this year’s hurricanes did not cause any major damage along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, they did cause minor construction delays. “We should have been open by now,” said Paula April, director of marketing at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center, who pointed out that the convention center expansion was originally scheduled for completion in 2007. The existing convention center, which is open for business during construction, offers 180,000 sf of meeting space. When the expansion is complete next October, the building will offer 413,000 sf of meeting space, thanks in large part to the construction of a new, 130,000-sf exhibit hall that will be serviced by a 40-foot-wide loading door, large enough to accommodate small airplanes and helicopters. “That’s new for us, because we definitely want to go after an air market,” said April, who 59 Hattiesburg Natchez 10 Biloxi Gulfport added that the expanded venue will accommodate small national meetings of up to 6,000 attendees and large regional meetings of up to 5,000 attendees. The convention center expansion is part of a larger, three-phase plan to improve the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center property, at a total cost of $107 million. The second phase, already complete, included renovations to the existing center, which now features a new sound system, new lighting, and an entirely new interior. The third and final phase includes upgrades to the coliseum portion of the property. Renovated Hilton Jackson Is Courting An Upscale Luxury Rating The Hilton Jackson in downtown Jackson, MS, is nearing completion on a $6 million renovation that it hopes will move it into AAA’s Four-Diamond strata sometime next year. Upgrades to public spaces already have been completed, encompassing the hotel’s lobby, restaurant, swimming pool, and meeting spaces, while renovations to the hotel’s 276 guest rooms will be completed by year end. “Our mission has always been to be the premier luxury hotel in Jackson,” said general manager Larry D. Hollingsworth. “And the $6 million renovation is all about maintaining and elevating that position into a FourDiamond meetings destination.” The Hilton Jackson features over 30,000 sf of meeting and event space, including two ballrooms and five private boardrooms that received significant upgrades as part of the property-wide improvements. Each boardroom was outfitted with a secure laptop safe, a private bathroom, a refrigerator, granite countertops, high-tech audiovisual equipment—including a 54-inch flat-screen television and a ceiling-mounted projector, as well as an accompanying projection screen. The ballrooms, meanwhile—including the penthouse ballroom on the hotel’s 14th floor, which offers views of the Jackson cityscape—received new carpeting, along S8 MeetingNews November 10, 2008 This chef’s table is tech-ready for events. with updated furnishings. In addition to its meeting spaces, the Hilton Jackson spent $50,000 to renovate the Oak Room, the private dining room at Huntington’s Grille, the hotel’s fine-dining restaurant. The renovated room, which features the restaurant’s chef’s table, was outfitted with communications and presentation equipment in order to accommodate groups of up to 18 people for board meetings and private meals. Those meals—along with all food that’s served at the hotel, from both its restaurant and catering menus—now feature locally grown ingredients, according to Hollingsworth, who said the hotel is pursuing “farmto-table” options with the help of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce. To further cement its reputation as an upscale meetings venue, the Hilton has completely rehabbed its pool and health club, and plans to build a spa within the next couple of years. According to Hollingsworth, the Hilton Jackson’s new meeting-space improvements and luxury upgrades will help the property remain competitive in Jackson’s growing downtown marketplace. That’s good news for the hotel, which does a lot of group business. “There’s a lot of hotel building going on in the city,” he said. “Groups and meetings account for 50 percent of our total revenue, so we need to make sure that we continue to garner that business.” www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - November 10, 2008

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