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West

Vancouver Becomes a Smarter City with CitySmart

Mobile applications are a hot topic these days, but how valuable are they to cities, venues and events? Destination-bound visitors find these tools useful, fun and engaging—all reasons why the mobile application industry is on fire right now. And, with partners like CitySmart, destinations like Vancouver are following in hot pursuit of the trend. Together, CitySmart and Vancouver offer a free download that practically places a tour guide in a user's back pocket. In this way and others, mobile applications help cities enhance relationships with meeting planners and a diversity of travel professionals.

Midwest

Des Moines Is Right on Track!

The center of the universe for track and field events in America, Greater Des Moines recently reinforced this prestigious recognition with the unveiling of Track Central USA. The initiative, an all-encompassing branding strategy, will have a profound effect on the fan experience at future track events in Des Moines. Together with Drake University, the DMASC (an organization under the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau umbrella) made this joint announcement. Central to the project is the creation of an innovative and interactive Track Central USA Fan Zone adjacent to Drake Stadium. This area will be sporting interactive video kiosks, an experiential track and field exhibit area, a section dedicated for fitness and wellness, a platform for athlete interaction, and more.

Southwest

Phoenix Sees its Downtown Area Re-born and Convention Center Expanded

Phoenix—already an attractive destination—is going through a rebirth in keeping with its namesake. Among the bevy of improvements are a newly-expanded Phoenix Convention Center, the nation’s newest light-rail transportation system, and a 1,000-room Sheraton hotel – all part of a $2.4 billion investment. The next feathers in the cap: an upcoming 280-room Westin hotel, the rebranding of a 520-room hotel by Marriott, and the opening of a $900 million mixed-use development called CityScape—all located within a stroll of the convention center. The new center’s $600 million tripling of meeting and exhibit space pays heed to the surrounding environment, with air-conditioned loading bays, exhibit halls with pre-scored floors, and outdoor meeting areas that capitalize on Phoenix’s greatest natural resource — the sun.

Southeast

College Park, GA, Is Now Home to First Convention Center to Connect with Major Airport

Drastically cutting the cost of getting to its facility, the Georgia International Convention Center has become the first convention center in the United States with a dedicated, direct connection to a major airport. The new ATL SkyTrain, a free and elevated people mover, connects to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The GICC’s strategic location will not only reduce destination costs and complexities, but also further solidify the destination's reputation as one of the nation's most accessible convention centers.

Northeast

Buffalo Niagara Announces Plans to Construct $7 Million in Renovations to its Convention Center

Vastly upgraded facilities soon will be up and running at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center. The Board of Directors of the Niagara Convention Center Management Corp. has released plans to undertake the implementation of $7 million in renovations to the existing facility there. To make way for the work, the Center will close on June 14; its reopening is rescheduled for Sept. 10. Even as construction proceeds 24 hours per day and seven days per week, the Buffalo Niagara CVB has put into place several measures to accommodate the many meeting planners who have already scheduled or plan to schedule their events in the city during the intervening months.