Originally published August 2006, Successful Meetings
While Reno and Atlantic City are surely not Las Vegas, these second-tier gaming destinations have broken out from the rest of the pack, upping the ante by investing millions to attract business, tourists, and meetings. Mixed-use condo/retail/entertainment projects are under way, transforming hotels into first-rate destination resorts, while outdoor adventure, gourmet dining, cultural events, and upscale shopping are playing their part in the overall renewal.
RENO
The "Biggest Little City" Gets Bigger
By April I. Torrisi
Presently, Reno is undergoing a massive citywide redevelopment movement, a progressive and ambitious plan to position itself as a flourishing commercial, cultural, recreational, and residential hub for families and also for meetings. Besides offering golf at 50 nearby courses, skiing at Lake Tahoe's 18 ski resorts, and gambling, Reno is now booming with cultural attractions. Tourists and locals alike can enjoy performances of the Nevada Opera troupe and the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra; comedy shows and live musical concerts at the new 118,000-square-foot Reno Events Center; and wine tours and tasting competitions along the RiverWalk district.
New mixed-use condominium complexes with retail stores and restaurants are being constructed, as is the new Downtown Reno Ballroom, a 28,000-square-foot venue, which will debut in 2007. In addition, vibrant recreation and park areas are emerging, such as the ice-skating rink in the new public plaza on North Virginia Street, the white-water park for kayakers on the Truckee River, and the Truckee RiverWalk, where pedestrians meandering down a marble, granite, and bronze walkway encounter open-air sculptures depicting Nevada's wildlife. The city's business infrastructure is all but exploding with diversity.
According to Kristen Rossiter, economic development manager for the Reno Redevelopment Agency, the citywide redevelopment plan had its impetus in 1983, when Reno identified the need to diversify the economy and strengthen the tax base, which is still the city's goal for this decade. Says Rossiter, "The redevelopment plan is to move away from the idea that the city is used as a playground for tourists. Instead, it is focusing on an economic renewal where a new dynamic downtown is created for people to live and work as well as play."
Since Reno is the second-fastest-growing city per capita in the U.S., Rossiter states that "people are choosing to retire here, start a new career or business, and attend the university. People are really discovering Reno in whole new ways."
Resorts: Revitalize, Renew, Reinvent
Rick Chapman, executive director of sales for the Peppermill Hotel Casino in Reno, which is undergoing a $300-million expansion, says that its redevelopment, along with the city's plan to revitalize and make the downtown more diverse for locals and tourists, will make Reno more robust for his property's in-house conventions, with bigger and better metropolitan options than just gaming. According to Bill Hughes, director of casino marketing operations at the Peppermill, "Reno is in the midst of finding a new niche for itself that will ultimately maximize its recreational and entertainment sectors." Hughes explains that the Peppermill's reason to expand is to create a destination resort in the heart of Reno that will offer a 600-room all-suite tower, a luxurious spa, fine dining and retail options, an expanded and renovated casino and arcade, a pool and entertainment deck, a 65,500-square-foot convention and entertainment center, and a new 1,600-space parking plaza.
Chapman adds: "With the expansion bringing our total rooms to 1,600 and an additional 65,500-square-foot ballroom, the Peppermill is now in a position to bid on headquarter status for citywide conventions. Prior to the expansion we have only been able to offer rooms as an overflow hotel."
In June, the city's mega resort, the Reno Hilton, was sold to the Grand Sierra Operating Corporation and renamed the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino. It is planning a $1.8-billion redevelopment that will transform the hotel into a world-class, luxury property spanning 145 acres and featuring 825 hotel-condominium accommodations, a 2,000-room tower, 200,000 square feet of meeting and function space, the country's largest indoor water park at 150,000 square feet, a revamped casino, a 1,800-seat dinner theater, nightclubs, branded retail stores and several restaurants led by award-winning chefs, a 38-acre lakefront with a water show, a five-acre grass amphitheater/park, and a four-level golf driving range.
According to Jeanne Corey, director of sales for the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, "This ambitious project has already begun to attract the corporate and incentive market, which is something new for the property." Due to its luxurious hotel environment, explains Corey, the property will be a first of its kind in the Reno area. She believes that by default, the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino will be competing with many first-tier destinations. "We're proud to be a part of one of the country's hot, new, and growing destinations. It feels good to know that something this good and exciting will benefit everyone."
ATLANTIC CITY
Glitz Hits the Beach
By Terri Hardin
As one of the oldest resort destinations in the nation, there's a lot of history in Atlantic City; problem was, for a while, you couldn't get away from it. Vacant lots, decaying rowhouses, and endless vistas of T-shirt-and-taffy emporiums along the famous Boardwalk—it all spoke of a city that had yet to make the transition to a 21st-century gaming playground.
Those days are over. "If you haven't been here in five years, you haven't seen this place," says Jeffrey Vasser, executive director, Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority. "Entertainment, nightlife, dining, shopping, gaming, and the beach have finally come together in the maturing of this destination."
Among the astounding changes is the wealth and diversity of retail shopping. "Three years ago, we didn't have any retail in this city, outside of the casinos," says Vasser. Now, with The Walk, a collection of high-end outlet shops with anchors like Coach, Brooks Brothers, and Polo, shopping is within a short walk from all the hotels and the convention center. And with the July debut of The Pier at Caesars—a redo of the former Million-Dollar Pier that now boasts anchors like Gucci and Louis Vuitton—Vasser can say, "We now have almost a million square feet of great retail."
It Was a Very Good Year
Much of Atlantic City's renaissance is attributed to The Borgata, the billion-dollar property that opened in the Marina District in 2003. Bob Franklin, Borgata's director of sales and marketing, enthuses: "We've had some amazing success, which has helped to identify us as a unique property. Corporate America is looking for incentive-quality venues; even for a simple meeting program, it wants its attendees to come to a location that has the feel of an incentive-oriented program." Borgata, which opened as the first new property in AC in 13 years, was also the first property to offer top-name entertainment in an intimate venue—with the likes of Bon Jovi and Sting playing to 2,500 people. But more important for groups, it offered 10 fine-dining experiences on site, including the Old Homestead and Susanna Foo's Suilan. "East of the Mississippi," notes Franklin, "there is not another venue that has our culinary offerings. We have a number of groups who will ask if such-and-such restaurant is available, and that will determine what night they're coming." In June, Borgata expanded its gaming space and added three more restaurants—these by celebrity chefs Michael Mina, Bobby Flay, and Wolfgang Puck.
Today, Atlantic City is revitalized. The visitor demographic, which used to be from age 60 to nearly dead, is now a jaunty 45, and the properties along the Boardwalk—either having undergone or being in the process of undergoing renovations—are also looking more youthful. A year after The Borgata's opening, the Tropicana opened its $285-million Havana Tower, a non-gaming expansion featuring an 18-floor, 502-room hotel with 45,000 square feet of hospitality suites and meeting space, followed shortly by The Quarter, a dining and retail complex that features P.F. Chang's and The Palm steak house. Recently, the House of Blues opened at the Showboat Casino, with an intimate theater that features acts from The White Stripes to Dolly Parton and can be rented for groups.
The Beauty is the Beach
The Hilton was the first Boardwalk property to launch a beach bar, and now cocktails are served at the Trump Plaza and Bally's beachfronts. The new Pier at Caesars has a deck projecting over the ocean that can be used for group functions.
Atlantic City's meeting business is booming; its year-to-date figures show a 60-percent increase in meeting room-nights. "Meeting planners no longer have that hesitation about Atlantic City," says Vasser. "The Philadelphia Candy Show is coming here, and their exhibitor base is up 30 percent since they booked." It also comes down to more rooms, says Vasser: "In the past three years, we've added 4,000 more rooms in this market—that's a 30-percent increase of our base. We've got 2,000 under construction, and there are probably another 5,000 on the drawing board." By 2010, Atlantic City is expecting to have 25,000 rooms. Vasser admits, "It's going to be exciting to have a 25,000-room market."