Virginia Beach Convention Center under Construction, to Be Complete by 2007

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- It isn't a baseball diamond in an Iowa corn field, so there's no guarantee that if you build a $200 million convention center, "they will come."

But just days after announcing they had landed the American Bus Association national meeting for 2008, with 3,000 conventioneers, city officials were back boasting more good bookings for the new, yet-to-be completed convention hall.

Among the conventions signed: the American Helicopter Association, the USA Gymnastics Classic, Lions International, the Virginia Fire Chiefs Association and the Association of Old Crows.

None of them could have been hosted in the existing Pavilion.

"If it had not been for the new convention center, they would not meet with us," Al Hutchinson, director of convention sales, told the City Council at its workshop Tuesday.

The new convention center is under construction next to the Pavilion, on 19th Street. The first phase will open in June. When the full convention center opens in spring 2007, it will be triple the size of the Pavilion.

Building the convention hall is a gamble. Beach officials hope the bigger building will lead to bigger convention groups. So far, the approach seems to be working.

Hutchinson said the city is attracting new interest at convention trade shows. "We're getting meeting planners to come by who used to not even think of Virginia Beach," Hutchinson said.

The city is also in the running for the National Urban League gathering in July 2008. With thousands of attendees and an expected 16,000 room nights, it is among the largest events the city is seeking, and it would push the new facility close to capacity.

"It's an example of the type of business we are seeking in terms of its scale and impact," said James B. Ricketts, director of the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau. "It will take advantage of the full capabilities of the convention center."

Beach officials have said they intend to seek mostly statewide and regional conventions, along with smaller national groups. They've also identified several cities to compete against in the convention market, including Norfolk, Richmond, Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Charlotte and Raleigh; Tampa Bay, Fla.; Savannah, Ga., and Atlantic City, N.J.

Since the terrorist attacks of 2001, convention business has fallen off somewhat, forcing larger cities to sometimes seek out meetings that tended to meet in smaller markets.

That means Virginia Beach has found itself bidding against the likes of Atlanta and Baltimore for some its bigger conventions. "We're up against some of the major cities in the country," Ricketts said. "So it's very gratifying to compete with them and outdo them."

Several such cities were vying for the 2008 American Bus Association meeting. It draws about 3,000 visitors and 8,000 room nights.

Virginia Beach won, and the building that will host them isn't even finished.

"It's very unusual to pitch to a group like that and win right out of the chute," Hutchinson said. "That's a major, major coup for the community."