Raleigh, the centrally located capital of North Carolina, is in the midst of not just one but two renaissances. Greater Raleigh has $3 bil- lion in new infrastructure completed or cur- rently in the works, touching on every facet of the destination, from a recent $570-million expansion of RDU International Airport to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sci- ences’ new wing, the Nature Research Center. Nineteen hotels, new event venues such as the Raleigh Amphitheater, plus a long list of museums and attractions have also opened in the past five years. At the same time, Raleigh is redefining
itself as one of the country’s most forward- thinking cities in sustainability and envi- ronmental initiatives. The centerpiece of Raleigh’s eco-renaissance, the Raleigh Con- vention Center, is one of only seven conven- tion centers in the country to achieve LEED Silver certification. In addition to receiving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s 2011 Sie- mens Sustainable Community Award for mid-size communities, Raleigh has earned a spot on a list of the 25 “most electric-vehicle – ready” cities in the United States. With its comfortable climate, verdant scenery, and farm-to-table dining and out-
AT A GLANCE
Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau Jana Rae Oliver, Director of Sales 421 Fayetteville Street, Suite 1505 Raleigh, NC 27601-2995 (800) 834-5900 or (919) 645-2675 jroliver@visitraleigh.comvisitraleigh.com
Raleigh Convention Center
• Total space: 500,000 square feet • Total exhibit space: 150,000 square feet
• Grand Ballroom: 32,617 square feet, divisible into three rooms
• Total number of meeting rooms 20
Hotels
• Total rooms: 15,227 • Rooms with walking distance of the Raleigh Convention Center: 907
Air transportation RDU International Airport, consistently ranked among the most eficient airports in North America, serves Raleigh and the Research Triangle Region with 350 daily arrivals and departures on nine major airlines and seven regional carriers.
Attractions
• North Carolina Museum of Art • The new Nature Research Center at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
• Moore Square, a historic district with shopping, arts, and dining
• Lonnie Poole Golf Course • North Carolina State Capitol
door recreation options, Raleigh has an abun- dance of natural assets for off-site meetings as well as leisure time.
For more information on holding meetings in Raleigh, check out the Greater Raleigh CVB’s Guide for Meeting Planners at visitraleigh .com/meeting_planners/online_guide.
Raleigh Convention Center This spring, the LEED Silver–certified Raleigh Convention Center debuted a new rooftop solar-energy system that produces an estimated 725,000 kilowatt hours of electricity and reduces the center’s carbon-dioxide emissions by about 500 tons annually.