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Winter 2010
The Knoxville Tourism & Sports Corporation's Sales Team sends you warm greetings during this bitterly cold winter! We hope you enjoy our Winter edition of "Gotta Know Knoxville."
Knoxville's Beads & Roses FAM
The KTSC's Sales Team will host a "Beads & Roses" Winter Familiarization (FAM) Tour Feb. 11-14. The weekend itinerary will include tours of downtown Knoxville, World's Fair Park, Volunteer Landing, the Knoxville Convention Center, various restaurants and hotels, and attendees will also enjoy an evening at a Knoxville Ice Bears hockey game.
Pictured right is a group of FAM attendees enjoying the beauty of Volunteer Landing.
"The KTSC staff looks forward to hosting familiarization tours each year," said Jennifer Morris, KTSC Sports Sales Manager. "The first-hand experience we're offering planners is an effective way of presenting the many positive things our market has to offer and we're confident new business will be generated through this effort as the planners come to realize our city is a perfect fit for their events."
Spaces filled up fast for the Winter FAM, but we're pleased to announce that plans for upcoming FAMs are underway! For more information, contact Teresa Hall at (865) 342-9118 or thall@knoxville.org.
We've Got the Key!
The Knoxville Convention Center (KCC) has the only keys you'll ever need to unlock successful conventions!
BOOK NOW!
Book your convention by July 30, 2010 and the KCC (pictured right) will guarantee your group one or more of the following incentives to help your budget:
- 100% off meeting space rental*
- 50% off meeting space rental**
- 20% off AV package***
- Complimentary internet & phone connection in Staff Office
- Complimentary tea & lemonade on registration day
- Complimentary coffee & pastries in Staff Office
(*with food & beverage 3x the standard rent; **with food & beverage 2x the standard rent; ***if using-inhouse AV provider, PSAV)
For more infomation, contact us TODAY at 1-800-727-8045 or sales@Knoxville.org.
Spotlight on Hotels
Two prominent downtown hotels are making some improvements to better serve you!
The Crowne Plaza on Summit Hill Drive, recently renovated the Summit Grand Ballroom (pictured right), the largest of its 11 meeting rooms. The hotel did a complete renovation of the ceiling, walls, carpet, doors, and even the light fixtures in the ballroom. Around $125,000 was spent renovating the more than 6,000 square-foot room that holds around 600 for banquet seating.
The 197-guest-room hotel also offers a 24-hour business center, restaurant, bar and lounge, concierge services and several other amenities.
The Holiday Inn World’s Fair Park, located on Henley Street, started renovations in January 2010. The renovations will include all 293 guest rooms and suites, restaurant, bar, offices, and lobby. According to developer Nick Cazana, renovated rooms will have a sleek, more modern look and will include new beds, new furniture, flat screen televisions and wireless internet.
“Improving this hotel helps tourism, the convention center and the city itself,” said Cazana.
The $4 to $5 million project is expected to take less than two years.
For more information on utilizing either one of these venues for your next event, contact the KTSC at 1-800-727-8045 or sales@knoxville.org.
Venue Highlight - S&W Grand
The S&W Grand is certainly one of Knoxville’s many urban wonders, doubling as a nostalgic restaurant downstairs and a convenient banquet hall upstairs. Renovations were recently completed on this historic building, which has stood in the heart of downtown Knoxville since the days of the Great Depression. Throughout the building’s restoration, the terra cotta Art Deco exterior was preserved while still reviving the inside of the building with new and modern touches. But, the building’s façade was not all that was preserved during renovations.
The S&W Grand boasts of its intentional nod to the original cafeteria’s menu, an array of delicious “southern comfort” dishes, while also adding new and modern flavors to the mix. Menus for catered events range from simple breakfast items to elegant seafood entrées and an array of delectable dishes in between.
The S&W Grand’s two banquet halls, the Gay Street Room and the Sky Light Room, seat up to 160 occupants. Banquet facilities can be used for everything from meetings and award ceremonies to dinner receptions and holiday parties. This remarkable venue comes complete with a world-class staff, including Executive Chef Shane Robertson, prepared to offer you the experience of a lifetime. In addition to its excellent menu choices, the S&W Grand is also well prepared to help with any of your event's technical, floral, or wedding arrangement needs. No matter what it is you’re looking for, this exciting and historical venue certainly has something for everyone!
The S&W Grand is located at 516 Gay Street. For more information, on using this unique venue for your next event, contact the KTSC Sales Team at 1-800-727-8045 or sales@knoxville.org.
New Sporting Event Highlights
Whatever the season, Knoxville is the place for your sporting event. Indoor or outdoor, we’ve got the perfect venues for you!
Here are a few sporting events that are going on in Knoxville within the next few months.
The Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA) Swimming & Diving Championships will be held Feb. 18-20 at the Allen Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center (pictured right) on the campus of the University of Tennessee. More than 200 students from the Atlantic Sun, Big South, Mid Eastern and Southern Conferences will be competing in the one of the fastest collegiate pools in the country. Completed in 2008, the aquatic center is highlighted by an eight-lane, 50-meter by 25-yard competition pool. Other amenities include permanent seating for 1,200 spectators with a spacious deck area to accommodate up to 1,500 additional individuals, teams and other personnel comfortably during meets.
On March 13-14, more than 20 southern colleges will participate in the US Tennis Association (USTA) Southern North Campus Championships at Tyson Park Tennis Center in Knoxville. These championships are fun, competitive and exciting for the collegiate tennis club teams and Knoxville is a great venue for the championships! The 27-acre Tyson Park is located near the University of Tennessee campus, has 14 lighted tennis courts, eight picnic shelters, two baseball/softball fields and a large playground area.
Another unique event coming to Knoxville is the 2010 Red Bull Chariot Race. On March 27, around 2,000 people are expected to watch as teams race in their man-made chariots! All the fun will take place in Market Square in downtown Knoxville, which provides a spectacular venue for special events. Find out more about Market Square later on in this newsletter.
If you are interested in booking a sports event in Knoxville, please contact Jennifer Morris, KTSC Sports Sales Manager, at (865) 342-9134 or jmorris@knoxville.org.
50th Anniversary of the Dogwood Arts Festival
Each spring, Knoxville celebrates its transformation into a wonderland of blooming flowers and trees with the Dogwood Arts Festival and as April 2010 marks the 50th anniversary for the festival, the city plans to celebrate in style! For the entire month, the city will be host to fine arts and crafts exhibitions, theatrical performances, music, dancing, film and literary arts. There’s definitely something for everyone at this “blue jean to black tie” festival.
The festival kicks off on April 2 with the opening of world-class art exhibitions, both indoors and outdoors, as well as a Regional Fine Art Exhibition and a locally-based student art show. Other festivities not to miss include musical performances during Rhythm ‘N Blooms, downtown’s Carpet of Flowers and Chalk Walk, and much more.
On April 23, downtown Knoxville will be decked out in true parade fashion when marching bands, decorated floats, helium balloons, clowns and street performers march down Gay Street during the Dogwood Parade.
The Dogwood Arts Festival has become an East Tennessee tradition, celebrating the area’s natural beauty as well as the city’s rich culture and ever-growing artistic talent. This year’s commemoration presents the most diverse schedule in the festival’s 50-year history.
The 50th anniversary of the Dogwood Arts Festival marks half a century of strengthening the relationship between art and community. The mission of the Dogwood Arts Festival is to support arts education in Knoxville’s schools, to promote the visual and performing arts and to preserve and enhance the natural beauty of the city’s region.
Make your plans now to attend Knoxville’s most beloved spring festival!
Market Square
Located in the center of downtown Knoxville, Market Square (pictured right) is one of the South’s finest historic districts. Here, you’ll find some of the best places to eat, shop, work, live and play!
It’s in Market Square that you’ll find some of the best of music and the arts via Sundown in the City, a FREE concert series featuring a wide variety of music, Shakespeare on the Square, a FREE Shakespearean festival featuring live performances by the Tennessee Stage Company and Movies on Market Square, a FREE outdoor movie series event.
If it’s shopping you’re looking for, look no further! In Market Square, you can get a great haircut, shop for furniture, check out designer vintage clothing and buy some fabulous local art and unique home décor. After all that shopping, you’ll want to sit down for a great meal at one of Market Square’s 14 (and counting) restaurants! You can stop in for a quick sandwich or an exquisite, relaxed meal with family and friends.
The Market Square District is also a great place for Knoxville nightlife. It has one of the nation’s best pubs (Preservation Pub) and several venues featuring national, multiple genre, musical acts.
A few of Market Square’s neighbors are also great places to stop in while you’re visiting. You can watch a movie at the new Regal Riviera Stadium 8 Theater, shop at the Mast General Store and see a Broadway show or opera performance at the Bijou or Tennessee Theatres all located on Gay Street.
You may be wondering where to park after hearing about all the things going on in downtown Knoxville. You can park for FREE in the city owned Market Square, State Street, Locust Street, and Dwight Kessel garages, and on street-side meters, from 6 p.m. on the weekdays and all day on weekends. You can also ride for FREE on the Knoxville Trolley Lines, which run in downtown, the Old City and the University of Tennessee. Click here for more information on Trolley hours. With more than 10 garages within two blocks of Market Square and almost 40 in downtown Knoxville, parking is convenient
for anyone in the heart of the city. For more information on parking, visit the City of Knoxville’s website at:
http://www.ci.knoxville.tn.us/newcomers/parking.asp.
Partner Profile - LJ White
For the past few months, the KTSC Sales Team has been in contact with LJ White – Director of Communications for Revolution 3, a triathlon race production company. LJ, an 18-year veteran to the world of fitness, brings an exciting and efficient energy to races. See below to read the interview!
LJ, tell us a little about why Revolution 3 chose Knoxville for your upcoming triathlon?
“Our company was looking for a triathlon race venue that was: sports-oriented, family friendly & surrounded by an energetic community willing to embrace a World Class triathlon event – we found all that and more in Knoxville. The Knoxville Tourism & Sports Corporation staff made us feel very welcome; it is a pleasure to do business with them. The University of Tennessee is also a big player in making the city come alive; they promote a large slate of sporting events from a huge track club, to a highly competitive aquatics program, to, of course, their strong football and basketball programs.”
What has been your favorite thing about Knoxville?
My favorite thing about Knoxville is the people – friendly, active, welcoming.
Why do you think someone would enjoy visiting Knoxville?
My first description of Knoxville was a great “little” city – and I mean that with the highest regard. Unless I am traveling out of the downtown area, when I am there on business, I can walk everywhere. The “outdoors” part of the city is gorgeous with the Volunteer Landing area along the river, the Market Square area and the greenways – I’m a runner and it is easy to move from work to work-out directly from downtown. It is an accessible city, great food and lots going on – but with a 10 minute drive you are out into the countryside, or on your way to the Great Smoky Mountains… City life and outdoor adventure; Knoxville is a good find!
For more information
For more information on Knoxville, visit www.Knoxville.org or call toll-free, 1-800-727-8045.
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February 3, 2010
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