CITY BEAT 1-1-2003

Meetings & Conventions: Newsline CITY BEATBoston
.........................
COUPS AND CUTS
News about Beantown has been up and down. Scrutinized for surprisingly few bookings, the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, coming online in 2004, did manage to woo Macworld from New York City. The BCEC also will host the Democrats at their 2004 national convention. Meanwhile, the city’s Hynes Convention Center has had $10 million cut from its operating budget. The ramifications were uncertain at press time. In hotel news, the Boston Marriott Copley Place finished a $21 million renovation of its 1,100 guest rooms.

Phoenix
.........................
GROWTH IN THE DESERT
The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa opened in November with 820 guest rooms, 160,000 square feet of function space and a full-service spa. In neighboring Scottsdale is the JW Marriott Desert Ridge, which opened in November with 869 guest rooms and 200,000 square feet of meeting space. The property is affiliated with the 36-hole Wildfire Golf Club.