It’s a new day for meetings in this historic trio of states. With the recent evolution of its major cities into world-class meetings destinations, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware are booking association groups large and small (not to mention Pope Francis, who will be attending a convention in Philadelphia this fall).
The rebirth extends across the board with new builds, expansions and renovations. As a result, visiting groups have new things to offer prospective attendees and are experiencing record turnouts.
Atlantic City, New Jersey: a meetings turnaround
Business is booming in Atlantic City. Convention center bookings in 2014 were up by 58 percent and casino profits have reportedly doubled. “The future of Atlantic City is getting brighter by the day,” said Jim Wood, CEO of Meet AC (formerly the Atlantic City CVA).
All kinds of redevelopment has been encouraging planners and exciting attendees. At Harrah’s, the $125 million Waterfront Conference Center is scheduled to open in August with 100,000 square feet of divisible meeting space. The Tropicana/Atlantic City completed a $50 million improvement project this spring, which updated its 122,000 square feet of convention space and North Tower guest rooms. Resorts International is expected to add 12,000 square feet of additional conference space by the year’s end. And at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, the outdoor Festival Park opened in June and will welcome big-name concerts throughout the summer. It can accommodate up to 4,500 people. A brand-new, non-gaming alternative is the 464,000-square-foot Playground (formerly the Pier Shops at Caesars), which recently celebrated the opening of its first phase: T-Street, which features live entertainment. The $50 million Playground is expected to include a bowling alley, nine entertainment venues, a swimming pool and restaurants when it fully opens by the end of the year.
Other recreational options include 25 area golf courses, and in the Marina District, city officials are moving forward with new plans for the 22-acre Gardner’s Basin. Work has already begun on an extension of the Boardwalk to this area, which is expected to be finished by next June. Other proposals include an expansion of the Atlantic City Aquarium, which has indoor and outdoor event space.
Another indication of Atlantic City’s growing meetings popularity is the Atlantic City Convention Center’s 65 percent client return rate. The center features nearly 500,000 square feet of exhibit space and more than 100,000 of meeting space. Groups that have held events at the center recently include the New Jersey Education Association, the Northeast Spa & Pool Association and the American Wind Energy Association. Another major venue is Boardwalk Hall, which can accommodate up to 15,000 people.
Northern & Central New Jersey: Preferred Points of View
With both sporty and sophisticated settings, the Meadowlands Complex in East Rutherford is suitable for many events. MetLife Stadium, host of the 2014 Super Bowl, welcomes groups with spaces ranging from the 10,700-square-foot Commissioners Club to the 82,566-seat field. Next door, the Meadowlands Racetrack can host up to 40,000.
In Secaucus, the Meadowlands Exposition Center can host up to 5,000 people. Farther south, in Jersey City, the Liberty Science Center offers nine meeting venues, an event lawn for up to 1,000, and a 400-seat IMAX theater.
Just to the west, Newark is experiencing a renaissance with redevelopment plans and new hotels in the works. The new Hotel Indigo/Newark Downtown, located within a 1912 bank building, opened over the winter with 108 guest rooms and a boardroom for up to 45. Plans also call for a TRYP by Wyndham hotel and a 94-room Carvi/Newark in the Ironbound District. Newark’s largest convention facility is the Prudential Center, home to the NHL’s Devils. It can seat up to 18,500 and features event spaces for up to 1,000 people.
For meetings with Ivy League cache, head to Princeton, where the New Jersey Hospital Association Conference & Event Center has space for up to 230 people. The renovated Chauncey Hotel & Conference Center can host up to 180.
The Garden State’s capital, Trenton, is home to Arm & Hammer Park, which has 8,300 seats and smaller venues like the Yankee Club & Conference Center, which can host up to 100.
Thirty miles southwest, in Camden, gatherings for up to 3,000 can be arranged on the Battleship New Jersey, which offers overnight accommodations for up to 300 people.
Pittsburgh & Western Pennsylvania: Green and Glorious
From grit to award-winning green, the turnaround of Pittsburgh is an inspiration. The mainstay of the city’s environmental rebirth is the 1.5 million-square-foot David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The world’s first green convention center, it was initially awarded gold–LEED certification as a new building and years later was awarded platinum–LEED certification as an existing building.
“The convention center is beautiful,” said Ruth Polanco, director of the International Quilt Market, which was held in town in 2014. “All our exhibitors and attendees were happy to see their textiles on display with all the natural lighting coming into the concourse space and exhibit halls.” Polanco also liked that the center could host the entire show on one level and was able to accommodate her need for multiple meeting rooms.
Green meetings extend far beyond the convention center. More than 30 certified green venues in the city welcome group events. Among the standouts is the year-old Pittsburgh Botanic Garden, which welcomes groups of up to 150. At the LEED-certified Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, delegates can gather within the 12,000-square-foot Tropical Forest Conservatory. Other LEED-certified venues include the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, the Senator John Heinz History Center, the Pittsburgh Glass Center, and the Consol Energy Center, home to the NHL’s Penguins. In addition to professional hockey, Pittsburgh loves its two other major home teams: the NFL’s Steelers, which play at Heinz Field (undergoing an expansion that is set to add more than 2,500 seats to its South Plaza by August) and the 38,362-seat PNC Park, home to MLB’s Pirates. Both offer various special event spaces. At the University of Pittsburgh, the Petersen Events Center offers a 2,225-seat arena, an outdoor plaza and smaller meeting rooms.
Groups who prefer cultural settings have an abundance of choices, including the Carnegie Science Center and the Andy Warhol Museum downtown. In the Oakland neighborhood, the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh is home to Carnegie Hall, the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, all of which are available for group functions. And near Frick Park, the Frick Art & Historical Center welcomes events and later this year hopes to open the renovated and expanded Car & Carriage Museum with classroom spaces and a community center.
There are meeting hotels throughout the city to fit every group and budget. Downtown, in a repurposed Beaux Arts–style building, the new Hotel Monaco/Pittsburgh features an 88-seat, outdoor Biergarten restaurant on its ninth-floor rooftop. A 198-room Hilton Garden Inn with 2,000 square feet of meeting space is expected to open in November in Market Square’s new, LEED-certified Tower Two-Sixty (formerly the Gardens at Market Square), a $110 million mixed-use development. A Distrikt Hotel and Forbes Hotel are in the works for 2016.
In trendy East Liberty, a 63-room Ace Hotel is expected to open soon in the revamped East Liberty YMCA. Plans include a ballroom and a restaurant. The 135-room Hotel Indigo/Pittsburgh-East Liberty opened this spring. Ten miles farther east, in Monroeville, the Monroeville Convention Center has more than 100,000 square feet of event space and is supported by nearly 1,300 guest rooms.
Many a retreat is held at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington, 60 miles south of Pittsburgh. The property recently finished a $30 million renovation, which updated accommodations and revamped the meeting space.
In the northwestern corner of the state, in Erie, meeting venues include the 120,000-square-foot Bayfront Convention Center. Once business is done, attendees can tour the new Lake Erie Ale Trail, which highlights local breweries.
greater Philadelphia: A Meetings Grab
Philadelphia is on a roll as a convention city. Within the past year, more than $100 million in new business has been booked into the 1 million-square-foot Pennsylvania Convention Center, which is now managed by SMG. Groups heading to town in the future include the American Heart Association; the American College of Emergency Physicians; the American Association of Cancer Research; the National Black MBA Association and the American Industrial Hygiene Association, to name a few. And much anticipated is the September visit of Pope Francis, who will attend the World Meeting of Families, an international event being held for the first time in the United States.
Until 2014, the National Society of Hispanic MBAs’ Conference & Career Expo had never been held in the Northeast, but last September it held its 25th annual event at the Philadelphia Convention Center and posted record-breaking attendance.
Cele Fogarty, vice-president for meetings and member experience for the American Society of Nephrology, has arranged meetings in Philadelphia for so long she feels like she’s grown up with the city. “I’m absolutely thrilled with the new convention center management. I felt a genuine partnership with the staff, who really wanted to exceed my expectations, and did,” she said.
New hotel construction and expansions and renovations are adding to Philly’s appeal. In 2017, the SLS LUX is slated to open with meeting facilities. Also scheduled to open that year are an Aloft Hotel adjacent to the convention center; a dual-brand W Hotel and Element by Westin; and a Kimpton Hotel located in the former Family Court building. Finally, the Four Seasons/Philadelphia is slated to open in 2018.
In Rittenhouse Square, the Westin/Philadelphia recently completed a $10 million renovation. Sage Hospitality has taken over the former Four Seasons building in Logan Square and is expected to reopen the property late this year following a multimillion-dollar revamp. Other hotels that have recently seen improvements include Loews/Philadelphia, the Wyndham/Philadelphia Historic District and the Sonesta/Philadelphia. Two hotels have changed flags: the former Hyatt Regency on Penn’s Landing is now the Hilton/Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing, and the former Hilton/Philadelphia Airport is now a DoubleTree by Hilton.
According to Visit Philadelphia, a record 39.7 million travelers visited the city in 2014, and many of them come to see the historic attractions, such as the Moshulu, the world’s oldest and largest square-rigged sailing vessel, built in 1904. Today, the restored tall ship is berthed at Penn’s Landing and functions as a restaurant, ready to host up to 20 VIPs or up to 1,000 for a buyout.
The Philadelphia Art Museum, and down the street, the Rodin Museum, both offer event spaces. The Please Touch Museum features an antique carousel and Beaux Arts–style hall among its 156,000 square feet of event space. Near the convention center, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts offers a number of event spaces. Or channel the vibe of the ’60s at the Electric Factory, a rock club which can be booked for private events of up to 2,200.
The newest venue is also one of the biggest. Dilworth Park, just west of City Hall, includes a terrace, great lawn and interactive fountain. It can host events of up to 4,500 people.
North of Philadelphia, a number of distinctive venues make Bucks County a popular stop for associations. The Pennsylvania Association of Prothonotaries’ & Clerks of the Courts recently met at the newly renovated Sheraton/Bucks County in Langhorne and organized a banquet at Pennsbury Manor, the recreated 17th-century mansion of William Penn in Morrisville. And when the Timber Framers Guild came to the area in April for a symposium, delegates met at the Golden Plough Inn, part of the 42-acre Peddler’s Village in New Hope. Fifteen miles north, in Warminster, groups can gather at The Fuge, a former astronaut-training centrifuge that has been converted into a special-event venue with 12,500 square feet of space.
Thirteen miles north of Philadelphia, the ACE Conference Center in Lafayette Hill provides 38,000 square feet of event space. In King of Prussia, the Valley Forge Casino Resort includes the Radisson/Valley Forge and the Valley Forge Convention Center, which combine for a total of 100,000 square feet of meeting space. Also in town is the DoubleTree by Hilton/Philadelphia-Valley Forge, which benefited from a renovation last year and can host groups of up to 600 theater-style. The new Bonefish Grill at the King of Prussia Mall can seat 355 and has two private dining rooms for groups of up to 72 people. In Oaks, to the northwest, is the 240,000-square-foot Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, which is undergoing a renovation, and is within walking distance is the new Hilton Garden Inn/Valley Forge–Oaks.
West of King of Prussia, in Malvern, the Penn State Great Valley Conference Center has a 300-seat auditorium and 30 meeting rooms, and the Desmond Hotel has completed a guest-room renovation. Another 18 miles south, Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square welcomes group events.
Lancaster & Reading: Choice Pickings
If your group likes food, Lancaster is a perfect pick. Delegates can browse the Lancaster Central Market, the country’s oldest farmers’ market building, which is just down the street from the Lancaster County Convention Center and adjoining Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square, two venues that work together to offer more than 90,000 square feet of meeting space. Also within walking distance is the Ware Center, a performing arts venue that can host groups of up to 350.
For a memorable excursion, the Turkey Hill Experience in Columbia treats groups to hands-on ice cream-making lessons. And always popular is a drive through the Amish countryside; the Amish Experience in Bird-in-Hand offers tours for up to 14 people.
In Reading, the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel/Reading is set to open in December with 209 guest rooms and 27,000 square feet of event space. Across the street is the 8,800-seat Santander Arena and within walking distance is GoggleWorks Center for the Arts and Santander Performing Arts Center. Groups who have met in Reading of late include the Master Farmers Association, the Pennsylvania Farmland Preservation Association, the Pennsylvania State Grange and the 57th Bomb Wing Association.
The Poconos & Allentown: New Offerings
For a respite from the city, head to the Pocono Mountains, where several new venues are ready to welcome associations. In Tannersville, the Camelback Resort recently opened the Camelback Lodge & Aquatopia Indoor Waterpark.
The new Kalahari Resort is expected to open July 1 in the town of Pocono Summit with 457 guest rooms and a 65,000-square-foot convention space. A waterpark addition is currently under construction. Fourteen miles north, in Skytop, the new Adventure Center at the historic Skytop Lodge offers 17 event rooms as well as outdoor space.
Allentown is home to five colleges that offer meeting space. For large shows, the William T. Harris Agricultural Hall at the Allentown Fairgrounds has 40,000 square feet of space. Just east, in Bethlehem, Lehigh University offers event spaces. Off campus, the former Bethlehem Steel Plant is now the 65,000-square ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, a unique setting for events.
Central Pennsylvania: Venues Built to Impress
Harrisburg, the state capital, is a natural hub for association gatherings. One of its largest sites is the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, which has nearly 1 million square feet of indoor event space. It is served by more than 8,500 area hotel rooms including the newly refurbished Radisson/Harrisburg. Off-site, the National Civil War Museum can host up to 300.
In the greater Gettysburg area, the Lodges at Gettysburg recently added four new guest cabins, increasing its overnight capacity to 150. Not to be outdone, the Liberty Mountain Resort & Conference Center in Carroll Valley plans to unveil its new, Highland Lodge this fall with event space that will boost the overall meeting space to 32,000 square feet. And, of course, a gathering in Gettysburg would not be complete without a visit to Gettysburg National Military Park, which has 21,750 square feet of usable space.
Thirty miles east, York’s ExpoCenter attracts several groups every year, including the National Street Rod Association, which has met here for the last 33 years. Its Street Rod Nationals East, held in June, attracts more than 30,000 attendees who bring some 3,500 vehicles, said Jerry Kennedy, the association’s special events director. York appeals to the group for many reasons. “It’s a central location, easy to drive to, and the area has plenty to do for families and all interests,” he said.
The Expo Center fits right in with the association’s event, which he described as “like a huge state fair for cars.” Kennedy appreciates the fact that, while the facility is continually updating, the vintage style is preserved. ExpoCenter’s features include a 114,000-square-foot arena three large halls, some 10,000 square feet of banquet and conference space and acres of outdoor exhibit space.
Hershey, 14 miles east of Harrisburg, is a favorite destination of Shonzia Thompson, meetings manager for the National Association of Manufacturers. “I love Hershey. It has a good mix of accommodation options and so many things for attendees to do,” she said. Popular picks include Hershey Lodge, with access to three golf courses; the 71,000-square-foot Antique Automobile Club of America Museum; and wine tasting at 15 nearby vineyards.
State and local associations often make a beeline for State College, home to Pennsylvania State University. Group facilities include the 107,282-seat Beaver Stadium, the 15,000-seat Bryce Jordan Center and two university-run hotels: the Nittany Lion Inn and the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel.
About 75 miles south, the Omni Bedford Springs Resort near Bedford is expanding its meeting space. This summer it plans to introduce the new, multipurpose Grist Mill facility. And by October, the mile-long Heritage Trail will link the hotel to historic Bedford.
Delaware: Lasting Impressions
Wilmington is a national corporate center, putting to good use its high-rises, historic buildings and business savvy to attract groups. The Chase Center on the Riverfront is the state’s largest convention facility. Combined with the adjacent, LEED-certified Westin/Wilmington, the two venues offer 92,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space. Other options are the Hotel du Pont, which recently hosted the conference of the National Association of Manufacturers, and the DoubleTree by Hilton/Downtown Wilmington-Legal District.
The downtown World Café Live at the Queen, housed in a vintage movie theater, is a popular site for meetings and live entertainment. Two miles south, along the Christina River, the DuPont Environmental Education Center can be used for functions of up to 80. The University of Delaware/Wilmington also welcomes associations with two venues: the Goodstay Mansion and Arsht Hall. The Hagley Museum & Library, the former DuPont estate, now offers event facilities. Down the road, the Inn & Spa at Montchanin Village has 19th-century settings but modern amenities and conference rooms for up to 40 attendees.
In Newark, 15 miles southwest, the Society of Corporate Secretaries & Governance Professionals recently hosted the Delaware Law Issues Update at the Courtyard by Marriott/Newark–University of Delaware. Other venues on campus include Clayton Hall and the Bob Carpenter Center.
Groups with attendees who are inclined to spend free time at the beach can head to the new Hyatt Place on Dewey Beach. Alternately, the new Fairfield Inn & Suites in Rehoboth Beach is just steps away from the boardwalk. It has 2,170 square feet of meeting space.
In New Castle, the Buena Vista Conference Center, a stately Greek revival mansion, is newly open to private events. Its antique-filled rooms can host up to 250 attendees.
The Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in the capital city of Dover has 35,000 square feet of event space. In Harrington, the Delaware State Fairgrounds offers three notable sites: the Dover Building, a 10,000-square-foot exhibit hall and the Quillen Arena. In Lewes, Nassau Valley Vineyards has six venues for groups of up to 450. The Virden Center can accommodate events of up to 132.
Inspiration for All
With their new offerings, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware now rank among the nation’s most coveted meeting destinations. The improved convention venues, reborn downtowns and fun new activities are inspirations, demonstrating how much can be accomplished when people put their mind to it.