A Trio of New Venues Will Make Music City Sing in 2013
NASHVILLE B
ELOVED BY MANY FOR ITS famous Southern hospitality and prolific music scene, Nash- ville is setting itself up for a whole new love affair — a com- pletely revamped downtown debuting in 2013 with a trio of new venues to make any meet- ing planner or attendee swoon.
The centerpiece of the trio, the Music City Cen- ✱
ter, will open in 2013 next door to the Bridges- tone Arena and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The 1.2-million-square-foot center will give planners and attendees easy, walkable access to downtown Nashville’s tourist attrac- tions and famous honky-tonk live-music scene. The new center will more than triple the meet- ing and exhibit space found in the current con- vention center, with 350,000 square feet of total exhibit space, 90,000 square feet of meeting and breakout space, and a 57,000-square-foot ballroom, along with a plethora of ameni- ties. Sustainability has been a major consideration in the plans, with the installation of a 175,000-square-foot green roof and a rainwater collection tank, as well as a commitment toward earning LEED Sil- ver certification. Also debuting in 2013 in tandem with the Music City Center is
a new convention-center headquarters hotel, the 800-room Omni Nashville Hotel. Meeting planners who bring groups to the Omni will have more than 80,000 square feet of meeting space at their dis- posal, as well as five restaurant and entertainment options, a pool deck, the Mokara Spa, and a fitness center. Built using natural, local materials including limestone, the project is also expected to earn LEED Silver certification. Seamlessly integrated into the new $250-million Omni hotel proj-
ect, the $75-million expansion of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will debut in the spring of 2014. The project will add new attractions and exhibits to one of the city’s most popular tourist sites, including a six-floor addition that will increase event space to more than 70,000 square feet, as well as add a new educational center and an 800-seat theater. A close partnership with the Omni Nashville Hotel means that not only will the hotel and museum be physically
106 pcma convene November 2011
MUSIC CITY: The new Music City Center is the newest star to come out of Nashville. The convention center will open after much anticipation in 2013 with 1.2 million total square feet of space in the heart of downtown.
connected and share meeting space, but all three venues — the Music City Center, the Omni Nashville Hotel, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum — will form a new downtown campus for meetings, conventions, and special events. n
AT A GLANCE
Convention facilities: When it opens in 2013, the Music City Cen- ter will offer a 350,000-square-foot exhibit hall, a 57,000-square-foot ballroom, an 18,000-square-foot junior ballroom, and 90,000 square feet of meeting room/breakout space. Hotel rooms within walking distance of convention center: 3,800 Nearby attractions: The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Ryman Auditorium, Bridgestone Arena, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, and a world-renowned honky- tonk music scene
For more information: Kay Witt, Senior Vice President of Sales, Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau; (615) 259-4782; www.visit musiccity.com