Greater Raleigh Tourism e-News
Welcome to the fifth issue of Greater Raleigh Tourism e-News … presented by the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (GRCVB). This monthly e-News is the metamorphosis of two CVB communications tools (Visitor Advance and Matter of Fax). Please let us know about any news pertaining to Wake County's billion dollar visitor industry for possible inclusion in future issues.
IN VOLUME 1, ISSUE 5:
• NHL Draft Descends on Triangle from June 24-27
• Annual Luncheon on July 14
• 2004/05 Cooperative Marketing Opportunities
• Ad Sales Begin for 2005 Visitors Guide
• New Convention Center/Hotel Update
• Assisted Bureau Bookings in May
• Sales/Sports News
• In the News
• Bureau Brings Home Five NCACVB Awards
• Events in Greater Raleigh This Month
NHL Draft Descends on Triangle from June 24-27
The Bureau continued its work with the Sports Council, the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, the Durham CVB and the Chapel Hill/Orange County VB on a cooperative effort to support the NHL and the Carolina Hurricanes on the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, June 26-27 at the RBC Center.
Rounds 1-3 on Saturday, June 26 will be televised nationally on ESPN2 and internationally, and the Hurricanes are calling on their fans and all North Carolinians to turn out and show their strong support for the team and league as they host this marquee NHL event (hopefully a precursor to hosting an NHL All-Star Game in the future). The Canes will have the eighth pick in the first round.
The Draft tickets and RBC Center parking are free and open to the public, but tickets are required for entry. Tickets are available while they last through the following outlets:
- RBC Center Box Office (Monday-Friday, 10 am-5 pm)
- Online download at www.carolinahurricanes.com
- All retail merchandise locations of The Eye
- All RBC Centura branch bank locations
- All Triangle-area Harris Teeter stores
- Available day of event at RBC Center
- All seating is general admission, with full season ticket holders having priority access to designated sections. Seating bowl opens to all guests at 10:30 am on Saturday, June 26 (doors open to the public at 8:30 am on Sunday, June 27).
Highlighting the weekend's events will be the special edition Caniac Carnival, which begins at 9 am on Saturday and features live music, games, visits with Stormy, Hurricane player autographs, kids' activities, food and a chance to see all 17 NHL trophies – including the Stanley Cup – on display.
The Triangle-wide event is expected to generate approximately 6,000 hotel room nights and $3.6 million in economic impact.
Save the Date: CVB Annual Luncheon on July 14
Kirk Watson, a former two-term mayor of Austin, Texas and a catalyst in Austin expanding their downtown convention center, will deliver the keynote speech at the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau's 17th annual luncheon on Wednesday, July 14.
Also on the agenda is the presentation of the Thad Eure, Jr. Memorial Award and the John B. Ross, Jr. Leadership Award. Previous recipients of the Eure Award include Dr. Jim Goodnight and Ann Goodnight of SAS Institute, James F. Goodmon of Capitol Broadcasting and Bill Cavanaugh of Progress Energy. For more information about ticket information, please contact the Bureau's director of operations Linda Bonine at 919-645-2662 or lbonine@visitraleigh.com.
2004/05 Cooperative Marketing Opportunities
From the blockbuster Matisse and Picasso exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Art to exciting new retail opportunities at North Hills and Triangle Town Center and from significant sporting events like the CIAA Basketball Tournament and U.S. Open Golf Championship in nearby Pinehurst to hundreds of holiday and spring events, there are many ways to leverage CVB programs and assist your business goals through the area's billion dollar visitor industry.
Right now, some exciting cooperative partnerships have been developed starting this fall that offer ways to join forces with CVB campaigns via online, magazine and newspaper advertising with rates starting from $250. For more information about these co-op marketing opportunities, please contact the Bureau's director of partnership and tourism marketing Shawn Braden at 919-645-2663 or sbraden@visitraleigh.com.
Ad Sales Begin for 2005 Visitors Guide
Advertising sales for the 2005 Visitors Guide to Raleigh and Wake County will soon commence with rates starting from $125 for this signature publication distributed to more than 300,000 people. For more information, please contact Candi Griffin at 919-645-2676 or adsales@visitraleigh.com.
New Convention Center/Hotel Update
On May 20, the Raleigh City Council and the Wake County Board of Commissioners chose an option that places the exhibit hall below grade for the new convention center. The architectural team of O'Brien Atkins, Clearscapes and TVS will now work on a schematic design for the new center to be presented to the elected officials in October 2004.
This chosen option is more compatible to downtown Raleigh's skyline and would provide the best possible pedestrian experience coming to or from either Fayetteville Street, the warehouse area, Shaw University or the southern gateway, plus it offers 135,000 square feet for expansion – the other options were limited to 90,000 and 100,000 square feet. It is also connected to the headquarters hotel, preserves the historic Christmas Plan grid, offers the best potential for an outdoor celebration venue and offers a dramatic elevated ballroom.
There are three informational sessions scheduled to assist this design process. July 13 will focus on the uniqueness of place, August 10 will center on character options, while September 14 will provide a progress report on schematic design. All of these Tuesday meetings convene at 5 p.m. at the Raleigh Convention Center.
John Muter of Skanska/Barnhill said that the present construction timeline would allow for completion of a below-grade option by December 2007.
The new convention center complex will result in 900 additional new jobs and more than $50 million additional economic benefit annually for Wake County. Click here for more details.
- 6 Pop-Warner Mid-South Regional Championships (Nov. 25-28, 2004; $923,150 EEI)
- US Army World Wide Civil Affairs Conference (June 17-20, 2005; $258,720 EEI)
- Jimmy V Softball Classic (May 1-2, 2004; $196,980 EEI)
Sales/Sports News
The Sales Department hosted a site inspection for Conference on Evangelizing Black America planning committee, an event coming to Raleigh for the first time with 1,500 attendees from July 5-9, and hosted a dinner for Magnet School of America planners.
Congratulations to assistant director of sales Heidi Walters (right) who was sworn in as the new president of the Meeting Professionals International Carolina Chapter at its annual meeting earlier in June in Myrtle Beach.
The sports team traveled to Salem, Va., with a group of representatives from Peace College and the City of Raleigh Parks & Recreation Department, to observe the 2004 NCAA Division III Softball Championships. The event will be held in Raleigh at Walnut Creek Softball Complex in 2005 and 2006.
In the News
Director of communications and marketing Martin Armes attended the Society of American Travel Writers Western Chapter marketplace and dinearound in Richmond. He also continued his extensive involvement in the North Carolina Golf Marketing Alliance by organizing the Fourth Annual North Carolina Golf Cup Challenge that featured stops in Raleigh, Asheville and Charlotte for 19 total participants, including 10 British tour operators/travel agents, 6 American journalists and 3 Canadian journalists. The scribes represented the likes of Great Lakes Golf Magazine, New England Golf Magazine, Ottawa Sun, PGATour.com, Savannah Morning News, The Globe & Mail, Toronto Star, TravelGolf.com, Travel & Leisure Golf, Vermont Golfer and more.
The CVB provided assistance to a Food Network television crew filming a "$40 a Day" episode in the Triangle and accompanied Danforth Prince on assignment for an updated edition of Arthur Frommer's "Guidebook to the Carolinas and Georgia."
Bureau Brings Home Five NCACVB Awards
The Bureau garnered five Destination Marketing Achievement awards at the Fifth Annual North Carolina Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus (NCACVB) Banquet in Greensboro on June 10. It picked up platinum plaques (top honors) for its Consumer Print Campaign (City Life, Carolina Style) and Constituents Publication (Annual Report). The Bureau was a gold winner for Web Site (www.VisitRaleigh.com), Co-Op Advertising (The New York Times insert with the North Carolina Museums of Art, History and Natural Sciences) and Constituents Newsletter (Tourism eNews). Of note, Greater Raleigh has collected 29 total NCACVB accolades the past five years.
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