The Greater Richmond Convention Center and downtown Marriott. (BizSense file)
Urban Hang Suite experienced the best sales days in the café’s history last March when the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts hosted its annual conference with more than 5,000 attendees at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. Turns out, ceramic artists really love local lattes.
Earlier that month, more than 41,000 costumed fans walked the halls of the GRCC for the fifth annual GalaxyCon. The two events helped generate one of the strongest hotel occupancy results for March in the region’s history.
It’s an example of the economic impact the state’s largest meeting and exhibit facility has on the region’s local businesses and the community. A new 500-room headquarters hotel in Richmond’s City Center plan would strengthen the ripple effects even more.
The GRCC officially opened in 2003 as cheerleaders from across the country tumbled into the building for the American National Cheer and Dance Championships. The facility has been home to hundreds of cheerleading competitions since then – and thousands of other conventions, consumer shows, sports tournaments and meetings that bring millions of people and dollars to the region.
At the time, Lt. Gov. John H. Hager described it as “the best example of regional cooperation in the history of this whole area.” The partnership is still paying dividends.
Like most meeting facilities, the GRCC couldn’t escape the disruptions of the pandemic as organizers paused events. Fortunately, and thanks to the hard work of many partners, attendance inched up in 2022 and is now back to pre-pandemic levels.
The Greater Richmond Convention Center at Broad and Fifth streets. (BizSense file photos)
But over the last several years, the team at Richmond Region Tourism has noticed an ongoing trend: Interest from larger events and conferences that we’re not able to accommodate because we don’t have large enough hotel facilities nearby.
Sometimes we can meet the requests, but on other occasions we miss out on the opportunities.
A total of 159 potential GRCC events have been lost due to our inability to offer appropriate hotel packages since 2019. Many times, this translates into us not having access to one anchor hotel where 500 or more attendees can stay. The missed economic impact equals $237 million.
The fact is, we’re selling ourselves short. While we have incredible hotel rooms near the GRCC, the feedback we commonly hear is that organizers also want an option where all guests can stay in one property. We’re at a serious disadvantage and severely limiting the number of large-scale groups we can compete for and host without a downtown headquarters hotel.
Focusing on attendance numbers is an important metric for understanding the potential impact of hotel plans within the City Center proposals and the GRCC’s overall performance.
When it comes down to it, the number of events at the GRCC tells only a small part of the story. Attendance is a more accurate reflection of the facility’s success because it fuels hotel demand and sales at local businesses, while contributing to the record-setting occupancy and visitor spending we’ve seen of late.
A look at the GRCC’s bookings vs. attendance numbers helps illustrate the trend. In FY 2023, the facility hosted 218 events with 380,353 attendees. Meanwhile, in FY 2018 the facility welcomed 294 events – 76 more events – with 357,046 attendees. In other words, the GRCC hosted fewer events, but welcomed more people last year compared to 2018. It’s a shift we expect to continue.
While we’ll continue to roll out the red carpet for smaller and mid-size groups to the GRCC – these visitors love to continue their conversations at local restaurants and explore our fantastic local businesses too – we’ll create greater economic impact by increasing our focus on larger conventions with more than 500 attendees. We need a HQ hotel to make that a reality.
A rendering of the 30-story hotel that City Center Gateway Partners is proposing for the Coliseum redevelopment. (City documents)
We believe the proposed City Center plans will enhance the visitor experience and quality of life for people living here too. In addition to a hotel, all four finalists include renderings with new restaurants, businesses, parks, public amenities, housing and more. It’s an exciting opportunity to transform 9.4 acres of downtown Richmond.
While we wait for the plan to come to fruition, we still have a lot to celebrate, especially when it comes to the GRCC’s impact.
The management staff at Lindsey Food Group, which opened its 13th restaurant this month, regularly looks at the GRCC’s calendar to make staffing and food ordering decisions. When an event is on the books, it translates to people at dining tables. Thanks to the Presbyterian Church in America’s conference, which included 3,500 attendees downtown this June, the Lindsey Food Group restaurants generated weekend revenue numbers midweek. Owner Mike Lindsey believes 2024 will be the company’s best year ever.
Expect those dining rooms to stay full. Leaders with the GRCC are forecasting approximately 215 events with more than 436,000 attendees in 2025, which would beat the record-setting 2019 that included 271 events and 406,000 people.
“Greater Richmond” is in the facility’s name for a reason: Its impact stretches well beyond its location on East Broad Street. Today’s conference-goers or parents visiting for a youth tournament want to explore and experience. It’s not uncommon for attendees to travel to local breweries, Kings Dominion and other local attractions.
A rendering from Richmond Community Development Partners’ proposal shows new structures around the Blues Armory building. (City documents)
Richmond Region Tourism’s destination sales team is stronger than ever as well, bolstered by the passage of the Tourism Improvement District last year. The new tourism funds are helping us introduce new meeting planners and groups to the region such as the 74th Jalsa Salana, the nation’s oldest Muslim convention, which recently met at the GRCC.
We were thrilled to take home the top spot in CNN Travel’s recent Best Towns to Visit list thanks to our dynamic culinary scene, arts and culture, outdoor activities, rich history and more. These are attributes meeting and event planners want too.
Potential plans for the City Center Project such as green spaces, mixed-use developments and yes, that headquarters hotel, will only increase the appeal.
The Richmond region is experiencing incredible tourism momentum across leisure, sports tournaments and meeting and convention sectors, and the GRCC is a big part of our success. With the headquarters hotel, we’ll be unstoppable.