Note that this information is outdated.
Source(http://www.raleigh-nc.org)
Raleigh is just a year away from the grand opening of its new convention center and the project is going great! That was the message delivered Sept. 25 by Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker and other Raleigh leaders from within the 500,000-square-foot, under-construction facility.
Dubbed the Downtown Countdown, the event highlighted:
Bookings that exceed the business plan;
A hospitality training program;
Updates on the status of key construction projects; and.
Some hints of what’s in store for the grand opening celebration.
“Our downtown countdown is bringing us closer to a bright new day for
Raleigh and our region,” Mayor Meeker said. “People know it’s all going on and coming down in Downtown Raleigh. Our center city is enjoying an injection of investment such as it has never seen before.” More than $2.5 billion in private and public investments are ongoing in downtown Raleigh.
Mayor Meeker shared new sales figures that show the convention center
is surpassing its goals, at points more than doubling projected goals. In a recent analysis of the center’s sales program, Thomas Hazinski, managing director of HVS International (the company that developed the convention center’s business plan prior to construction) noted, “Room night bookings are 2.5 times higher than projected in the first year of operation. Year two is already at 93 percent of projections and the booking window on that year remains open. Clearly you have ramped up your marketing and sales faster than anticipated.”
The sales update noted that the convention center has:
Accomplished 164 percent of its first year event booking goals, including 23 conventions; Exceeded its first year pace with its second year bookings – hitting 232 percent of its event booking goals for the second year – amounting to 58 events; More than doublings room night goals for the first year, meeting 237 percent of the bookings originall
When/Where: Raleigh