Phila. Welcomes Birth Of Constitution Ctr.

The July 4 opening of the National Constitution Center not only adds a major new attraction for travelers to Philadelphia but an innovative and intriguing venue for meeting planners.

Located in the heart of historic Independence Mall, the National Constitution Center is the first museum solely devoted to the U.S. Constitution. In addition to telling the story of the Constitution through interactive and multimedia exhibits, the center's 160,000 square feet can accommodate functions for 25 to 2,500 attendees. Appropriate for corporate meetings, conferences, tradeshows and special events, the Grand Hall and the Grand Hall Overlook provide clear views of the redeveloped Independence Mall through a two-story wall of glass.

Also available is Kirby Auditorium, which features a wide-screen display and seating for up to 180 people. Audiovisual capabilities include videoconferencing with cameras both on the stage and in the audience, and a podium that is wired for laptops, DVD players and a VCR.

Other Center elements include the 800-seat Founders Room, the Delegates Restaurant—which is a private dining room with capacity for 600 reception guests—and an outdoor terrace on the restaurant rooftop that can handle 500 attendees or a sit-down dinner for 300.

Other new and noteworthy venues include two user-friendly sports stadiums, used by the Philadelphia Eagles and the Philadelphia Phillies. Both are located in the south end, near the soon-to-be-demolished Veterans Stadium. The first to debut will be Lincoln Financial Field, the Eagles' new $550 million nest. Opening in August, it will feature 66,000 seats and offer a plaza area of more than 100,000 square feet, providing patrons with a large centralized area for pre- and post-game activities. Next spring, a new, 43,000-seat, $346 million Phillies Park will open, offering special recreation areas, high-caliber video and sound systems and special premium seating. Meeting and event planners also can take advantage of the stadiums' executive club suites, which are suitable for small and medium-size gatherings.

These new facilities will join several other special venues that opened in recent years, sites that have boosted Philadelphia's appeal as a meeting and convention venue. Highlights include the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, on Broad Street, whose 2,500-seat Verizon Hall has become the new home of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Kimmel also includes the 650-seat Perelman Theatre. Both Verizon and Perelman are housed underneath a soaring vaulted glass roof. This open lobby enables planners to employ extensive, weatherproof "outdoor" space.

Across the street, the Wilma Theatre also serves as a space for planners needing a superior midtown presentation site. Near the city's historic area, the Arden Theatre offers a flexible function area with seating that can be transformed to meet specific function needs.

Also noteworthy is the two-year-old Independence Visitor Center, which orients visitors to Independence National Historical Park. It is available for special event usage.

Meanwhile, during the decade since the Pennsylvania Convention Center opened, Philadelphia radically has increased and upgraded its hotel stock. The city now offers some 17,000 rooms, including 8,500 within walking distance of the convention center.

The closest can be found at the 1,408-room Marriott, the city's largest property, with a walkway to the convention center; the 279-room Hilton Garden Inn; and the 585-room Loews Philadelphia, a completely modernized reinvention of a 1932 landmark office tower.

The area also offers plenty of other effective examples of adaptive re-use of earlier architectural gems. These include the 300-room Hotel Sofitel, located in the former Philadelphia Stock Exchange building. Amenities include large desks, three phones in each room and high-speed Internet access. The domed Mellon/Girard Bank building has been restored as the 331-room Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia, which has been built as a reproduction of the Pantheon in Rome. The property consists of a rotunda featuring public areas, two full-service restaurants, the Rotunda bar and a tobacco lounge in the bank vault.

In other news, a new $500 million international terminal opened this spring at Philadelphia International Airport. The four-level facility, Terminal A West, includes expanded international ticketing facilities, 13 new international gates, baggage facilities and airline clubs.