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St. Louis Offers Enhanced Meeting Room Package at Convention Center
Starting in April 2006, meeting planners will get more than just square footage when using meeting rooms at the America's Center® convention complex in downtown St. Louis.
A newly enhanced meeting room package now provides each booked room a wired microphone, a skirted head table and material table, skirted staging for the head table or lectern, chilled spring water with dispensers and table coverings for classroom tables. These new amenities are in addition to a one-time theatre or classroom set, tabletop or standing lectern, speaker's platform staging and head table water service.
America's Center, located in the heart of St. Louis' downtown hospitality district, features 502,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space, plus a 28,000-square-foot ballroom and 82 breakout rooms. The center includes the multi-purpose Edward Jones Dome, home of the NFL's Rams and the first facility in the nation designed primarily as a convention site and a sports stadium all in one. The Dome connects directly to the five other America's Center exhibit halls, allowing for a seamless exhibit space. With specially designed retractable lights, retractable seats, and other engineering features, the Dome may be transformed from exhibits or general session space to a football field or concert venue. In addition to tradeshows and conventions, last year the Dome was noted for hosting the NCAA Men's Final Four basketball tournament with great success.
What else is new at America's Center? Labor agreements with the convention center's trade unions are making it easier for meeting planners to work in St. Louis. Exhibitors can now set up their own booths of 300 square feet or less, using hand tools and hang signs and graphics without union labor. Exhibitors also can bring their own materials into the building via a designated door and handcarts, as well as pack and unpack their own computers without outside labor assistance. Favorable new overtime provisions also add to the cost savings for planners and exhibitors.
The downtown hospitality district now offers 7,600 sleeping rooms near the America's Center convention complex. New and renovated Hilton and Residence Inn properties join the Renaissance Grand and Renaissance Suites and their 1,083 rooms adjacent to the America's Center complex as the area's newest lodging offerings. The Hilton St. Louis Downtown and both Renaissance hotels - along with the Westin, Sheraton City Center, and Drury Plaza Hotel - are all renovations and expansions of historic St. Louis buildings with character and charm not often found in close proximity of a convention center. The St. Louis Hilton at the Ballpark has renewed the former Marriott Pavilion hotel and now occupies an enviable space over looking the new Cardinals ballpark.
Outside the convention complex, new entertainment districts are adding to the appeal of St. Louis. The new Cardinals ballpark - also called Busch Stadium - opened on April 10, 2006. To the east of the Edward Jones Dome, a $400 million Pinnacle Casino will open in 2007, bringing a new luxury hotel, nightclubs, restaurants and residential development to the Laclede's Landing historic district along the Mississippi River. To the west of the convention center, new restaurants in the Washington Avenue loft district are increasing St. Louis' already stellar reputation as a great dining destination.
MEDIA NOTE: For more information or photography of St. Louis, send an e-mail to pr@explorestlouis.com or call Becky Sharp at 1-314-992-0652. For up-to-date information about St. Louis, your readers should call the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission at 1-800-916-0040 or check out our website at www.explorestlouis.com. This news release is also available in electronic form. To obtain an electronic version, e-mail your request to pr@explorestlouis.com or go to St. Louis’ online media center at www.explorestlouis.com/media.
