Urban Renewal Results In Cleveland Mtgs. Resurgence
<B>Urban Renewal Results In Cleveland Mtgs. Resurgence</B>
By Robert Selwitz
The renaissance of downtown Cleveland throughout the last decade and its ensuing lodging boom have been pivotal in increasing the city's role as a major meetings and convention venue. According to Joe Zion, president of sales and marketing for the Convention & Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland, "In 1996, we handled 136,000 room nights for meetings and conventions. For 2000, we already have 238,000 nights booked--a 60 percent rise."
What now sells Cleveland meetings is the general urban revival which has seen the construction of multiple new hotels and attractions. "Our mission is to be the destination of choice for business meetings, conventions and leisure travel between Chicago and New York," said Zion. "While we don't claim to be what they are, we do offer great accessibility, at far lower rates." Cleveland handles more than 800 daily flights, with Continental accounting for some 55 percent, he noted.
"Cleveland has had a major rebound," agreed John Catalano, group show manager for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers in Dearborn, Mich. "The CVB really knows about everything the city has to offer, and they make extra efforts on your behalf. They've worked very hard to bury the old 'rust belt' image."
Marcia Swan, meetings and expositions manager for the North American Die Casting Association based in Rosemont, Ill., also stressed the CVB's assistance. For a recent function, she noted, the CVB provided several extras, such as meet and greet airport services. "Also, the housing people were particularly helpful, especially when our 550 in attendance--a record for this group--exceeded initial estimates. We would definitely recommend Cleveland as a great, second-tier-city meeting location." Not only did pre-convention arrangements go smoothly, she said, "but members loved all the new attractions, particularly the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the new Flats entertainment district."
As to where all these conventioneers sleep, Cleveland is in the midst of greatly boosting its roster of quality downtown rooms, which currently number around 3,800. Recent additions include an $11 million, 141-room Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites.
Another recent debut was the 160-room Cleveland Clinic Inter-Continental Suite Hotel near University Circle. And Inter-Continental has more plans for Cleveland. Slated for a 2002 opening is a new 300-room property on the site of the soon-to-be-demolished Omni International Hotel. It will feature up to 35,000 square feet of meeting area, including a 500-seat auditorium.
Also scheduled for a 2002 opening is the 329-room Doubletree Hotel at Courthouse Tower, just a block from the Cleveland Convention Center.
Scheduled to open in 2001 is a 294-room Hyatt Regency Cleveland at the Arcade, a $60 million restoration of Cleveland's 109-year-old historic Arcade. When completed, the property will fill the building's two nine-story towers and the top three floors of its skylit atrium concourse. It is expected to offer 12,000 square feet of meeting space. Across from the Arcade and also slated to open next year is a planned 175-room Marriott Residence Inn, featuring one- and two-bedroom apartments for extended stays.
Plans also have been floated for a 260-room, 111-story Hilton Garden Inn at Gateway, close to Jacobs Field ballpark. Initial schematics call for an attached 30,000-sq.-ft. conference center.
As for prime function venues, plans are underway to find a replacement for the 74-year-old Cleveland Convention Center. With the city's revival, and resulting rise in meeting space demand, Zion said, there's a real need to offer a "more competitive facility." The center currently offers 375,000 square feet of exhibition space and 37 meeting rooms. Any new facility, Zion added, also would be built in conjunction with a modern adjacent or attached hotel.
A newer function venue is the IX (International Convention) Center adjacent to the Cleveland Hopkins Airport. According to the CVB, it features 800,000 square feet of contiguous exhibition space.