Hot Dates and Flexible Space Await in Santa Clara
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Goups as diverse as the Christian Home Educators and Stitches, a trade show for knitting enthusiasts, have recently found a warm welcome in Santa Clara, according to David Andre, director of travel marketing and communications at the Santa Clara Convention and Visitors Bureau. It may be because of the 300 days a year of sunshine, but Andre says ample free parking, easy airport access and award-winning hospitality are also draws for a wide range of SMERF groups.
In fact, Santa Clara has become so popular that work started in June on a 24,000-square-foot expansion to the convention center. The $17.4 million addition, slated for completion in 2008, will function as a multi-purpose space for a variety of events. “The key now is to be as flexible as possible with your space and that's what we're doing," says Santa Clara Convention Center General Manager Don Riccardi. "The primary advantage is that it will be flexible space and used for banquets, meetings, or exhibits if necessary.”
That quest for flexibility also led the center to spend $100,000 to add a high-tech dividing wall between two exhibit halls. The new wall acts like a theater curtain and can be raised or lowered automatically in less than a second, creating two 25,000 square foot spaces. The center currently offers 262,000 square feet of meeting space, a 607-seat multimedia theater and 25 breakout rooms, and will soon add a $42 million, 1,800-space parking structure adjacent to the Convention Center and the Santa Clara Golf and Tennis Club. The garage will be finished in 2009.
The Convention Center is connected to the 505-room Hyatt Regency, which has launched a $10 million renovation. In total, the city offers 3,800 hotel rooms, as well as the Santa Clara Golf and Tennis Club, adjacent to the center, featuring 18 championship holes, six lighted tennis courts and a restaurant. Accessing it all is easy, with Mineta San Jose International Airport five minutes away.
With all that Santa Clara has to offer, the city has recently launched a new marketing campaign to get the word out, billing the Silicon Valley city as “the birthplace of the big idea.”
In addition, Santa Clara offers unique spaces for off-site meetings, including the Network Meeting Center, Paramount’s Great America theme park, and David’s Banquet and Conference Facility at the Golf and Tennis Club.
Planners with flexible requirements or short planning cycles will be interested in a new partnership between Santa Clara and CVBHotRates.com. At www.santaclara.org, planners can find the best available rates on unsold meeting dates at the CVB's new "Meeting Hot Dates" search engine. Using the service, planners can find "hot dates" at many leading hotels.
For More Information
Contact Debbie Keller, national sales manager at the Santa Clara Convention and Visitors Bureau, by phone at 408-380-1244 or by e-mail at debbie.keller@santaclara.org.
