Prevue September-October 2016 - 79

"We can offer amazing experiences. From Honky Tonk row where musicians perform for just tips to venues like the Ryman Auditorium- it's all part of the city's 150 live music venues." Left page: Music City Center; Above (clockwise from left): Historic Ryman Auditorium; Pinewood Social Bowling; Gaylord Opryland Resort Omni Nashville Hotel, located downtown next to the Music City Center convention center and connected to the Country Music Hall of Fame, offers 800 rooms and 80,000 sf of meeting space, including a delightful rooftop deck that can host events. "The hotel exemplifies the essence of the city," says Tod Roadarmel, area director sales and marketing. "Our mantra is local color, which you can find at our Biscuit Bar at Kitchen Restaurant, offering shrimp and grits and other local foods, including the best burger in Nashville." The lobby is shaped like a guitar and 50 percent of the hotel's art comes from Nashville. Coming to the city in the next two years are approximately 3,000 more rooms, starting with the 27-story Westin, opening this month with 454 rooms and 20,000 sf of meeting space. The 35-story JW Marriott, is scheduled to open in 2018 with 532 rooms and 50,000 sf of meeting space. EVENT VENUES Music City Center (a.k.a. the convention center) aligns beautifully with the city's music brand. It boasts 60 meetings rooms, 353,000 sf of exhibit space and the largest ballroom in Tennessee. It was opened in 2013 and has hosted national and international shows that are spurring the city's meetings destination growth. A Gold LEED certified facility, it has a 4-acre green roof, four beehives, a solar farm and a storage tank for rainwater that is used for bathrooms and irrigation to reduce water consumption. The convention center also houses the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, a great attraction for convention attendees. Also downtown is the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum, which doubled in size in 2014 to 350,000 sf of special event space with a beautiful downtown view. The expansion included an 800-seat CMA Theatre. Using natural light, the acoustically excellent Schermerhorn Symphony Center can also be used for receptions and conferences from 10 to 2,000 attendees. Yet another choice is the Ryman Auditorium, a 19th century National Historic Landmark which had a $14 million expansion in 2015, including a new state-of-the-art theatre experience and five new exhibits. Known for its exceptional acoustics, artists from Patsy Cline to Bruce Springsteen have performed here. Just outside of the downtown area is Pinewood Social, a creative eatery with a vintage bowling alley and an outdoor garden and seating area, all available for group buyouts. The inside restaurant can accommodate 250 to 300 attendees, and if you include the outdoor area that number grows to 400. The bowling area can hold 40 for smaller groups. Food is creative, locally sourced and adapted to events for daytime or evening. Nashville is a very accessible, served by 12 airlines, with over 440 daily flights to 50 destinations nonstop. Plans have been announced to expand the airport over the next 5 to 7 years, adding more opportunity for increased airline service. visitmusiccity.com; gaylordhotels.com; nashvillemusiccitycenter.com; pinewoodsocial.com; omnihotels.com; eventgenuity.com prevuemeetings.com | 79 http://www.visitmusiccity.com http://www.gaylordhotels.com http://www.nashvillemusiccitycenter.com http://www.pinewoodsocial.com http://www.omnihotels.com http://www.eventgenuity.com http://www.prevuemeetings.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Prevue September-October 2016