THIS IS THE YEAR for Atlantic City to command the Northeast gaming stage. Not only is the amount of upcoming development ($10 billion) simply staggering, but the amount of luxury room inventory coming online in 2008 should astound all comersespecially the regional market that the Atlantic Convention and Visitors Association is targeting. Even more is in store, when the as-yet-unnamed, $5 billion MGM and $1.5 billion Pinnacle Entertainment projects break ground this year.
Essential Tool BoxConvention Centers: Atlantic City Convention Center, 500,000 sf of dedicated meeting space, with 45 meeting rooms accommodating 3,300 theater-style; Historic Boardwalk Hall, 119,500 sf of floor space, accommodates up to 13,800 theater-style.
For complete listings, visit Facility Quick Search at www.mimegasite.com
For More Information: Atlantic City CVA www.meetinac.com
Shakeup on the Boardwalk!One billion dollars: That's the price tag for the 1,624-room Tropicana Atlantic City, which is on the block following the refusal of New Jersey Casino Control Commission to renew the license of its former owner, KY-based Columbia Sussex in Dec. The Tropicana, which had recently added a 500-room tower and an upscale entertainment complex, The Quarter, will remain open under trusteeship and will operate as usual pending its sale.
But that's not the only big news on the Boardwalk. In 2007, Pinnacle Entertainment announced plans to build a $1.5 billion project on the site of the former Sands (which was imploded last Oct). Also last year, Revel Entertainment broke ground on a $2 billion, 1,900-room (and ultimately 3,800-room) oceanfront resort complex next to Showboat. And Trump's Taj, which recently went through a complete renovation of public space and guest rooms, will boast approximately 2,000 guest rooms when it debuts its 800-room tower this year.
Fancy, ThatAtlantic City has added some top-notch amenities lately, making the destination even more appealing to adults looking to either let loose or completely relax. Stressed-out visitors should begin their AC sojourn at the new Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa at Harrah's Atlantic City, which, far from being a run-of-the-mill hotel spa, is a destination unto itself. The airy entryway, laden with cosmetics and products for sale, leads back to a cozy and comfortable spa, where I was treated to a phenomenal massage that included wrapping my feet in hot towels, which is unexpectedly wonderful. After the treatment, my therapist talked about how to make the most of my spa experiencefor example, she recommended some time in the steam room, but told me to avoid the strong jets in the Jacuzzi tubs because they could tense my muscles again.
Should time allow, the perfect way to follow up your spa appointment is by spending the afternoon having lunch and lounging in a cabana at The Pool, which opened last May at Harrah's. The decidedly upmarket indoor pool complex offers six hot tubs in addition to the larger pool, beautiful private cabanas with plasma televisions and iPod docking stations, and an out- door terrace for sun worshippers. Bonus: It's an adults-only environment (21 and older).
At night, a private reception at the House of Blues Foundation Room at the Showboat Hotel and Casino is a striking and memorable way to kick off the evening's festivities. Foundation Rooms are members-only spaces, and membership dollars support the International House of Blues Foundation, a group committed to supporting music and the arts. The 12,520-sf Foundation Room has four private, themed "prayer rooms" availablea Hindu room, a classical Buddhist room, an African room, and a Tibetan Buddhist roomas well as a bar and dining room, and the venue is elaborately decorated with antiques and custom carvings from village craftsmen in Indonesia. It is sure to take your breath away.
Kinley Levack
Northern Renaissance by the SeaON THE RECORD: GARY MUSICH
VP, Convention Development, Atlantic City CVA
SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS: What's the feeling in Atlantic City right now?
GARY MUSICH: Atlantic City is going through a major renaissance. Everybody talks about how, because gaming is in 40 states now, gaming numbers are down three to five percent in Atlantic City due to competition. But what you'll soon be hearing is how non-gaming revenues here are skyrocketing.
Boardwalk Hall, a historic venue, is the top-grossing midsize venue in the world. In a very short period, there has been $5 billion of development. Most of that is non-gaming-related retail, restaurants, clubs, and golf resorts. And, on the books for the next five years, there is $10 billion more development.
SM: And on the property level?
MUSICH: Right now we have three new hotel towers at the Borgata, the Taj, and Harrah's Atlantic City in the process of going up2,600 new roomsall due to open in 2008. We're up to 12,000 rooms, with another 11,000 coming in the next few years.
When we opened the convention center 10 years ago, we didn't have the room inventory. But with the hotels and the amenities we've built in that time, all the new development has made us a better destination and makes us competitive.
SM: What are your marketing initiatives for 2008?
MUSICH: The midsized meetings market makes the most sense, because of our convention center's 500,000 sf of contiguous footage. Our center can compete with any center in the Northeast. We also support our properties in our central city, and what works best for them is that midsize meeting/trade show.
We don't want to be Las Vegaswe're not, we're on a barrier island! We want to be a neat choice for the meeting plannerfor the leisure traveler as wellthat gives you an option on the coast that you didn't have before. And the facilities that are being built now are equal to anyplace.
BACK IN THE MARINA...... where all the action has been for the past several years, the recently announced $5 billion MGM project (which is already being called "City Center East") is due to break ground sometime this year on an already prepared piece of land between Harrah's Atlantic City and the Borgata in what's classified as the Marina district. This year, the Borgata will open the stand-alone, hotel-within-a-hotel, luxury 800-room Water Club. The non-gaming property will feature a two-floor spa, multiple pools, duplex residences available for rental, and 30,000 sf of meeting space. Harrah's Atlantic City, which last year debuted The Pool complex and the area's second Elizabeth Arden Spa (the Marriott Seaview has the first), will open its new 900-room tower this year.
10 YEARS YOUNGThe 500,000-sf Atlantic City Convention Center is getting a tech makeover. "We're going through a whole technology upgrade there," says Gary Musich, vice president, convention development for the Atlantic City CVA, "that includes Internet serviceWi-Fi, standard, wireless, and fiber-optic wire." Also: "Future green plans for the center include turbine and solar energy. Not everybody knows that Atlantic City has a wind farm."
FACILITIES UPDATELast year, Phase II of The Walk opened. The retail and entertainment project is now a 10-square-block district of eating, walking, shopping, and nightclubbing venues, creating a vibrant new downtown area in Atlantic City. The outside outlet complements the Pier at Caesars, which has three levels of enclosed high-end retail and dining.
The long-awaited New Jersey Transit express train service from New York to Atlantic City is scheduled to begin this year.
The non-gaming, 337-room Chelsea House will debut in June, featuring 15,000 sf of meeting space.
HOME TEAM RECOMMENDSSuccessful Meetings Home Team experts Rachel Land, CMP (PA-based) and Michelle DeClerck, CMP, of IA-based Conference Event Management both recommend the 2,000-room Borgata "for anything and everything;" DeClerck has also had good experiences at the 1,624-room Tropicana.
Land suggests the House of Blues, inside the 1,309-room Showboat, as an interesting venue ("lots of floor space and auditorium seating").
Originally published February 01, 2008For more ideas, tips, and tools for better meetings and events,
get Successful Meetings' weekly e-newsletter delivered to your inbox.