convention connections

Virginia Beach Convention Center

Meetings with a side of sun, sand, and sustainability

From unforgettable events at the Virginia Beach Convention Center to the daily reunion of sand and surf, Virginia Beach offers meeting planners a destination full of coastal charm packed with an array of unique meeting venues, attractions, and accommo- dations. At the center of it all is the Virginia Beach Convention Center. Immediately upon entering, visitors get a sense of the beachside setting — soaring, nautical glass walls floating in pools of water, wooden boardwalks, and porch-inspired outdoor event spaces make for anything-but-typical surroundings. And from the 10-story observation deck, visitors can view the oceanfront skyline and the Naval Air Station Oceana. The flexible spaces of the Virginia Beach

New experiences Even groups who have met in Virginia Beach before will find new venues, attractions, and accommodations to discover near the Virginia Beach Convention Center. The new Sandler Center for the Performing Arts offers an outdoor performance plaza, a 1,300-seat theater, and a grand lobby for events, while the new, 189-room Oceanaire Resort Hotel has more than 8,000 square feet of meeting space.

108 PCMA CONVENE FEBRUARY 2013

Convention Center suit not just large con- ventions, but smaller meetings and confer- ences as well. The state-of-the-art facility offers more than 500,000 square feet of total space, including a 150,000-square-foot, column-free exhibit hall and a 31,000-square- foot ballroom for larger events; and its 26 meeting rooms, 972-square-foot VIP Lounge, and 1,026-square-foot Executive Boardroom make excellent options for meetings on a more intimate scale. The convention center also provides the latest in wired and wireless communications technologies, such as pro- grammable LED systems for events requiring special-effects lighting in the ballroom. An expansive video wall, which encompasses four 90-by-nine-foot screens, adds an artful yet innovative presence to the ballroom’s prefunction area. For trade shows, the center’s exhibit hall

(divisible into four sections) features 40-foot ceilings along with 10-by-10-foot grids, which have been permanently etched into the floor to facilitate exhibit setup. Each of the four

PCMA.ORG