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NASHVILLE
MUSIC CITY’S GROWTH IS INSTRUMENTAL TO ITS MEETINGS BUSINESS
While the railroad may no longer frequent Nashville’s historic Gulch District (“the Gulch”), which once saw over 100 trains arriving and departing daily, growth in the city continues full steam ahead. Cranes are present throughout Nashville, and the blocks surrounding Bridgestone Arena and Music City Center (MCC) perennially see hundreds of hotel rooms coming online. Hilton Hotels President and CEO Christopher J. Nassetta alluded to this growth in addressing audiences at PCMA’s Convening Leaders educational conference, held this past January at the MCC. In jest, Nassetta said that upon arriving, he had mixed feelings: While happy for Nashville’s growth, he was upset that he was greeted by the construction of a new competitor-branded hotel.
Nashville's Honky Tonk Highway is walking distance from the Facilities & Destinations Magazine
Described by the Nashville daily newspaper The Tennessean as once being a “ramshackle collection of unremarkable squat buildings,” the Gulch is where Mackenzie Colt embarked upon a new business of manufacturing confectionaries — chocolates, pies and other sweets — after concluding a successful career as a country music entertainer. At Convening Leaders, Colt relayed her personal recollections of the area’s transformation to us, explaining that the Gulch started becoming more residential with increased foot traffic during the day, with locals inquiring at the factory door if they could buy Colt’s products. This eventually led to her opening a storefront shop, which in turn drove even more traffic to the neighborhood. Since then, multiple restaurants and clubs have paved the way for hotels and businesses to breathe new life into the area. During PCMA, we noted that the Gulch was a favorite area for hosting private events for planners and potential customers.
MUSIC CITY CENTER
At the heart of Nashville’s downtown resurgence is the 2.1 million-sq.-ft. MCC. The artfully crafted facility is a far cry from the steel and concrete structures of the past, and has been instrumental in attracting major conventions to the city. Architecturally, the building is a work to behold, as well as a model facility for other developers to check out before constructing or refurbishing their own buildings. Indeed, while attending the inaugural ceremonies celebrating Louisville’s reopening of the Kentucky International Convention Center (KICC), we spoke with Charles Starks, President & CEO of MCC, and asked what his connection was to this potential competitor. Starks noted that he and his architectural team were consulted by KICC, and he was happy to offer helpful information.
The MCC definitely set the bar high for convention center design. A glass façade looks out at the city’s skyline, providing natural lighting on multiple levels to the exhibition space and its wide hallways that double as prefunction areas. Outdoor spaces include function areas with fire elements for evening events and terraces that extend indoor event space. Sustainability was also incorporated: Rainwater runoff from the guitar-shaped roof is utilized within the plumbing systems, and rooftop gardens and beehives provide F&B manager Centerplate fresh produce, herbs and honey. Butch Spyridon, President and CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation (Visit Music City), notes that within a half mile of the MCC (which includes the Gulch), hotel-room inventory would reach 10,000. Over 10 percent of those rooms are found in two nearby “headquarters hotels.”
The first anchor property, the Omni Nashville, features over 800 guestrooms. We were impressed with the property’s city-themed artwork and design, in addition to its in-house dining establishments that can be reserved for events. The Omni Nashville houses over 80,000 sq. ft. of event space. The 33-story glass luxury tower, which Nassetta was referring to earlier, is the 533-room JW Marriott Nashville. Opened in July, the JW Marriott has a rooftop pool, over 50,000 sq. ft. of indoor event space and a 13,000-sq.-ft. outdoor event lawn. Entertainment for attendees is close by at Bridgestone Arena and the city’s famed Honky Tonk Highway, where various bars with stages (some with rooftop areas) pump live music into the streets from 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. daily. (For insights into the entertainment programming at Bridgestone Arena, read the interview with David Kells, the arena’s Senior VP of Booking, on page 14 of the Facilities & Event Management 2016 SuperBook, accessible at facilitiesonline.com/archives)
Gold records at the Country Music Hall of Fame (Top): The architecturally striking Music City Center
PHOTOS COURTESY OF NASHVILLE CONVENTION & VISITORS CORPORATION
ECONOMIC UPSWING
After the healthcare sector, Spyridon notes that tourism, both leisure and business, is Tennessee’s next major economic sector, and it plays an important role in Nashville’s growth. Recent figures from the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development estimate that 2017 direct visitor spending was about $6.5 billion. New resident influx is another source of growth. Nashville is expected to have a million new residents by 2040, which has motivated local referendums to make infrastructural improvements to support the population increase.
Noteworthy developments on the business front include the following:
• New York-based global investment management firm investment Alliance Bernstein announced it is bringing over a thousand front-office jobs to Music City from the Big Apple.
• Nashville was awarded a Major League Soccer franchise, and has been selected to host the NFL Draft.
• British Airways recently commenced non-stop service between London and Nashville.
HOTEL UPDATES
Last summer saw the opening of the Kimpton Aertson. The 180-room hotel is set in a central yet serene location less than two miles from downtown Nashville. It is situated near Centennial Park, home to a full-scale replica of the Parthenon (which recalls the days when Nashville was known as the Athens of the South), as well as local hospitals and the Vanderbilt University campuses. The guestroom design both cleverly and seamlessly incorporates a Nashville theme with hints of Cornelius Vanderbilt’s legacy (Aertson was the original family name of the Vanderbilts, later modified to represent the Dutch town of de Bilt, from which they hailed). In total, the property has over 10,000 sq. ft. of flexible function space between its eighth- and 17th-floor venues, but its signature space is the 4,500-sq.-ft. Woodlea room, whose indoor and outdoor rooftop space offers panoramic views of Nashville’s skyline and the Vanderbilt campus.
In contrast to this boutique property is the 2,800-room Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, whose motto “Everything in One Place” sums up the experience. The resort houses 757,478 sq. ft. of function space, including 85 event rooms and a maximum of 106 breakout rooms. Later this year, the property will open Soundwaves, which it bills as a four-acre, three-level upscale indoor/ outdoor waterpark with dedicated recreation zones for adults, young children and families.
The new waterpark, combined with Nashville’s business growth, music-themed attractions and year-round sports and recreational opportunities, will make the destination a prime site for the foreseeable future. —David Korn
This article appeared in the Fall 2018 issue of Facilities & Destinations Magazine
