Charlotte Convention Center

[krazeeboi]

6 hours ago, kayman said:

This is why we are beleaguered and always behind because nobody thinks bigger when it comes to imagining things that are tied to major cities. 

Hyperbolic much?

[kayman]

11 minutes ago, krazeeboi said:

Hyperbolic much?

Okay....Charlotte should be thinking bigger not smaller by competing with Raleigh, New Orleans, nor Nashville.

Cincinnati, Denver, Orlando, St. Louis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle, Phoenix are peers these days.

Disagree if you like, my point still stands...

Edited April 22, 2022 by kayman

[krazeeboi]

17 hours ago, kayman said:

Okay....Charlotte should be thinking bigger not smaller by competing with Raleigh, New Orleans, nor Nashville.

Cincinnati, Denver, Orlando, St. Louis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle, Phoenix are peers these days.

Disagree if you like, my point still stands...

Since we're talking about convention centers and tourism/hospitality, how exactly is Charlotte competing with New Orleans and Nashville "thinking smaller"?

Also in what sense are Cincinnati, Denver, Orlando, St. Louis, the Twin Cities, Atlanta, DFW, Seattle, and Phoenix all considered "peers" of Charlotte in your view? It's definitely harder to make the case for Atlanta, DFW, Phoenix, and Seattle, all of which are clearly in a higher tier of cities.

[Reverie39]

19 hours ago, kayman said:

Okay....Charlotte should be thinking bigger not smaller by competing with Raleigh, New Orleans, nor Nashville.

Cincinnati, Denver, Orlando, St. Louis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle, Phoenix are peers these days.

Disagree if you like, my point still stands...

I wouldn't say Charlotte is "thinking smaller" by competing with New Orleans and Nashville when it comes to hosting events and generating tourism. Those cities are smaller in population but as centers of American culture they are definitely in a tier above Charlotte. Many more people travel to Nashville and especially New Orleans than Charlotte for tourism and things like conventions. Charlotte is bigger economically and population wise but that's not everything.

[JRCLT]

I wouldn't say Charlotte is "thinking smaller" by competing with New Orleans and Nashville when it comes to hosting events and generating tourism. Those cities are smaller in population but as centers of American culture they are definitely in a tier above Charlotte. Many more people travel to Nashville and especially New Orleans than Charlotte for tourism and things like conventions. Charlotte is bigger economically and population wise but that's not everything.

Charlotte does get more visitors, at least according to these statistics. You may find it surprising, and New Orleans did surprise me. Nashville and New Orleans is just more recognized. Sometimes to be known doesn’t also mean to be big. You are correct, they are culturally integrated so they are much easily recognized. I think Charlotte is getting there. I’ve started to see Charlotte pop up in places I wouldn’t have seen it mentioned before. Slowly but surely Charlotte is entering the well known cities tier.

Charlotte:
https://www.crva.com/press/2019-visitor-spending-hits-a-record-7-8-billion-in-charlotte-region-nearly-6-billion-in-mecklenburg-county
Nashville:
https://www.visitmusiccity.com/research
New Orleans:
https://www.bizneworleans.com/n-o-tourism-spending-break-records-in-2019

I’d say, note: Charlotte counts it’s MSA, but I think Nashville does as well.

[kayman]

11 hours ago, krazeeboi said:

Since we're talking about convention centers and tourism/hospitality, how exactly is Charlotte competing with New Orleans and Nashville "thinking smaller"?

Also in what sense are Cincinnati, Denver, Orlando, St. Louis, the Twin Cities, Atlanta, DFW, Seattle, and Phoenix all considered "peers" of Charlotte in your view? It's definitely harder to make the case for Atlanta, DFW, Phoenix, and Seattle, all of which are clearly in a higher tier of cities.

Size and economic development are why

[Rufus]

I'm probably one of the few that thinks Charlotte shouldn't go after the convention market. That's a competitive market that honestly has no fruit for Charlotte. It's not going to get the conventions that find themselves at McCormick Place in Chicago, or Orange County CC in Orlando, or the SDCC in San Diego. I mean, NYC has Javits which is a fraction of the size of others, and it does alright. But fighting against the big players is just not feasible. 

[KJHburg]

11 minutes ago, Rufus said:

I'm probably one of the few that thinks Charlotte shouldn't go after the convention market. That's a competitive market that honestly has no fruit for Charlotte. It's not going to get the conventions that find themselves at McCormick Place in Chicago, or Orange County CC in Orlando, or the SDCC in San Diego. I mean, NYC has Javits which is a fraction of the size of others, and it does alright. But fighting against the big players is just not feasible. 

I agree we don't need to get in an arms race with other cities with much larger convention centers like those mentioned and several others.  Lets go after those shows and conventions our center can work with and that seems to be a lot anyway.  The mega conventions usually go to Vegas, Orlando, Chicago, etc.   Not every group is 40-50K attendees.  

[krazeeboi]

1 hour ago, kayman said:

Size and economic development are why

When it comes to their convention centers and tourism/hospitality sectors overall, they unquestionably have Charlotte beat.

As far as size and economic development, Nashville and the Triangle are Charlotte's peers but towards the less populous end of the metropolitan spectrum. While each has its economic specialties and varying metropolitan GDPs, all three perform highly for economic development and have impressive track records. 

[southslider]

For fans of hyperbole, here are two interesting facts about tourism and conventions...

North Carolina is the fifth most visited state, which is impressive, given the top four states are the four most populous.  The peer states to NC (5th) pulling in a lot more visitors than their population are Florida (2nd) and Tennessee (6th).

Winston-Salem currently has the largest convention space on one level in North Carolina, which will be surpassed next by a planned expansion in Hickory.  Large, single-level convention spaces attract a different kind of convention, like car shows and boat shows, than a destination venue does, like national conferences.

[RANYC]

Saw a headline for a brand new Duke Energy Convention Center and assumed it might be Charlotte related given we’re the location for the corporate HQ.  Instead, I saw elaborate renderings of a new convention center for Cincinatti, and not gonna lie, makes our convention center remake look like one massive snooze fest.

[JRCLT]

Saw a headline for a brand new Duke Energy Convention Center and assumed it might be Charlotte related given we’re the location for the corporate HQ.  Instead, I saw elaborate renderings of a new convention center for Cincinatti, and not gonna lie, makes our convention center remake look like one massive snooze fest.
http://content.invisioncic.com/x329420/monthly_2022_10/D23EEADA-FE91-4FF4-816E-1DF41EF5E3FE.jpeg.c8e2b64d504a7000d6df2d135febfb34.jpeg
http://content.invisioncic.com/x329420/monthly_2022_10/46B9E9DD-C29A-41CD-8A71-8757A9202380.jpeg.d0942a498b641a55a422241ac1e3e2bd.jpeg
http://content.invisioncic.com/x329420/monthly_2022_10/7B30B9B7-AD06-4BEF-BE45-EDE8A61CDCB7.jpeg.8123138be281932d2e4833e51ba8fee6.jpeg
http://content.invisioncic.com/x329420/monthly_2022_10/62298605-A216-4C76-B810-F776BB09EB52.jpeg.cceef00794f75a36d2e93679ad8d66c6.jpeg

Snooze fest is putting it lightly…

Edit: if this is able to be pulled off at $200 M like they propose, there was definitely some lack of vision and creativity at our $127 M.

[RANYC]

1 hour ago, JeanClt said:

 

Snooze fest is putting it lightly…

Edit: if this is able to be pulled off at $200 M like they propose, there was definitely some lack of vision and creativity at our $127 M.

 

To our credit, we did create this splendidly stunning vista of cars and blacktop with our overhanging viewbox.

[CLT2014]

1 hour ago, JeanClt said:

 

Snooze fest is putting it lightly…

Edit: if this is able to be pulled off at $200 M like they propose, there was definitely some lack of vision and creativity at our $127 M.

 

Charlotte did add actual square footage for $127 million, while Cincy is just looking at $200 million for a cosmetic and functional renovation of existing space with no expansion.

[tozmervo]

^ And $200 million seems very low for even just a renovation like those renderings propose. It's hard to overstate how inflated the construction market is right now.

[Reverie39]

23 hours ago, RANYC said:

Saw a headline for a brand new Duke Energy Convention Center and assumed it might be Charlotte related given we’re the location for the corporate HQ.  Instead, I saw elaborate renderings of a new convention center for Cincinatti, and not gonna lie, makes our convention center remake look like one massive snooze fest.

Ah yes, the REAL Queen City.

[videtur quam contuor]

Our forebears were far more highly educated than we, especially in the classical arts and letters. Cincinnatus and the Society of Cincinnati (plural) is a nod to our founding days. A noble name. And a practice to be followed.

https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/cincinnatus/

The common name for early Cincinnati was Porkopolis for the hog shipping on the Ohio River. And loose pigs in the streets.

https://www.unitedstatesnow.org/why-was-cincinnati-once-known-as-porkopolis.htm

[BarrenLucidity]

On 4/23/2022 at 10:05 PM, KJHburg said:

I agree we don't need to get in an arms race with other cities with much larger convention centers like those mentioned and several others.  Lets go after those shows and conventions our center can work with and that seems to be a lot anyway.  The mega conventions usually go to Vegas, Orlando, Chicago, etc.   Not every group is 40-50K attendees.  

I think part of the issue is the hotel room availability. My company just had a convention and with 4500 attendees we booked north of 11000 rooms. The entire city only has ~27000 rooms but I'd argue we probably have less than 10000 "convention ready" hotel rooms. 

Edited October 23, 2022 by BarrenLucidity

[TheOneRJ]

8 hours ago, BarrenLucidity said:

I think part of the issue is the hotel room availability. My company just had a convention and with 4500 attendees we booked north of 11000 rooms. The entire city only has ~27000 rooms but I'd argue we probably have less than 10000 "convention ready" hotel rooms. 

This isn’t accurate. There were over 29,000 hotel rooms in the city in 2007. The issue isn’t about the number of hotel rooms.

[BarrenLucidity]

16 minutes ago, TheOneRJ said:

This isn’t accurate. There were over 29,000 hotel rooms in the city in 2007. The issue isn’t about the number of hotel rooms.

Somebody better tell Charlotte that they're wrong because 27k is directly from their website.  https://www.charlottemeetings.com/charlotte-hotel-development

How many 3-star and above hotel rooms exist today within walking distance or short bus ride of the convention center? It's definitely below 10k and  you need at least 50% more than that to account for normal activities. 

I don't see how this isn't about hotel rooms. 

At 600k sq feet it's right there for hosting 5000+ attendee conventions but everything else isn't ready. 

Edited October 23, 2022 by BarrenLucidity

[KJHburg]

according to that webpage uptown has 6000 hotel rooms and another 1099 underway.  I think the problem is most of the hotel growth is in the more limited service hotels i.e. Hampton Inns, Tru by Hilton etc. as opposed to full service hotels like JW Marriott, Grand Bohemian etc.   Plus we need more hotel rooms uptown or very close to the convention center.  Our biggest suburban hotel is in fact is the Great Wolf Lodge in Concord.  I think the Marriott Hotel on the UNCC campus should be promoted more as it right by  LYNX to ride uptown. 

But overall I think it is the number of hotel rooms uptown and the type. 

The Intercontinental would be a great add as it is a full service hotel. (I think it is planned for 400 rooms)   I still think the Hilton uptown should expand by 600 rooms in a new tower and then we will have our 1000 room hotel and this could be done much more economically as many of the existing hotel facilities could be used.  And it would right across from the convention center on a surface parking lot. 

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

LU will hopefully have a sizable, full service hotel built on site. I’ve always wondered this, esp with nascar leaving the tower, but what if they converted that office tower at the nascar hall of fame to a hotel? Directly connected to the convention center and could provide a ton of rooms. Don’t know the logitics of lobby and valet but just a hypothetical. Unless they are truly waiting for the duke data center to use for a convention hotel. 

[KJHburg]

Here is the parcel I speak of next to the Hilton owned by the NC RR company.  This is right at Hilton by the 3rd Street station and the Hiltons own ballroom crosses over the tracks as it is.  

https://polaris3g.mecklenburgcountync.gov/#mat=602478&pid=12506105&gisid=12506105

 

[uptownliving]

Anyone have more info on the land exchange with Millennium Venture Capital and related plaza enhancements? Im guessing this has to do with where the fountains are.

[CLT Development]

On 10/23/2022 at 8:43 AM, CharlotteWkndBuzz said:

LU will hopefully have a sizable, full service hotel built on site. I’ve always wondered this, esp with nascar leaving the tower, but what if they converted that office tower at the nascar hall of fame to a hotel? Directly connected to the convention center and could provide a ton of rooms. Don’t know the logitics of lobby and valet but just a hypothetical. Unless they are truly waiting for the duke data center to use for a convention hotel. 

Valet and Lobby would be the easy part. The rest, impossible. Light only travels about 35, 40 feet, to pull off hotel in this building the units would be 50-90 feet deep. Its also not square, its curved and it flares, so most hoteliers would be reluctant to take on this kind of project. With the current setup I'd think you could fit 28 rooms per floor on 17 floors, so 476 very long and skinny rooms.