With only a few weeks left of the summer season, now is the perfect time to step outside of the traditional urban conference center environment and take your event into the great outdoors!

After more than nine years of planning, including a three-year feasibility period demonstrating significant demand from convention clients, the city of Indianapolis is about to get a larger convention center and a new 800-room headquarter hotel. 

The Pennsylvania Convention Center (PCC) has earned Gold Level certification for the Events Industry Council’s (EIC) Sustainable Event Standards for venues, part of a collection of eight standards developed to assess events and industry suppliers on specific criteria for producing and delivering environmentally and socially responsible events.

Across the U.S., hospitality companies have been busy acquiring and rebranding hotel and resort properties, as well as completing renovations, to up their game as they compete for pre-pandemic levels of meetings and leisure business. Here’s a roundup of recent hotel developments.

Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa and Marina

Following an extensive and competitive RFP process, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) has selected global sports and live entertainment company Oak View Group (OVG) as the new private management and food service partner for Chicago’s McCormick Place, Wintrust Arena and Arie Crown Theater. 

Beginning Oct. 1 and running through Sept. 2028, the management and F&B contracts were awarded to OVG360 and OVG Hospitality, respectively, following a unanimous vote by the MPEA Board. 

The Overland Park Convention Center in Overland Park, Kan., has launched a full-service program designed to show appreciation, reduce costs and elevate the live event experience for convention and trade show producers, exhibitors and general service contractors.

The Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) signed an agreement with

The Prime F.

Skilled trade unions are critical to the successful execution of meetings and trade shows at convention venues across the U.S. While working with organized labor such as teamsters, carpenters, electricians, stagehands and sound technicians at event venues can come with their fair share of complexities, these groups of skilled professionals can also serve as valuable partners in ensuring a successful event experience for exhibitors and attendees alike. 

Located near the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park about 50 miles west of the Asheville Regional Airport, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort