Black Meetings & Tourism - THE MIAMI BEACH CONVENTION CENTER (MBCC) IS READY TO DO BIG THINGS IN 2023

Industry Briefs
THE MIAMI BEACH CONVENTION CENTER (MBCC) IS READY TO DO BIG THINGS IN 2023
Florida's popular large-scale event venue will debut a new restaurant and event space, new sustainability initiatives, an unparalleled wireless communications network, and a calendar of must-do events. The past 12 months have been a major success for the Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC). In 2022, South Florida's premier convention center hosted approx. 560,000 guests at 67 regional, national, and international events, creating significant economic impact for the City of Miami Beach and the region. It earned five prestigious industry recognitions: the "Silver Stella 2022" (Northstar Meetings Group), the "Centers of Excellence Award" (Exhibitor Magazine), "Smart Stars 2022" (Smart Meetings Magazine), "Prime Site Award" (Facilities & Destinations), and "Reader's Choice Award" (ConventionSouth). In 2023, the MBCC, which is an OVG360-managed venue, will only continue to grow. It is unveiling a highly anticipated restaurant and event venue, launching a new website in spring, and looks forward to hosting a robust calendar of high-profile events. Read below to find out more about what MBCC accomplished in 2022, all the exciting things to come in 2023, and why the Miami Beach Convention Center continues to be one of North America's top-tier convention centers. The Miami Beach Convention Center continues to offer guests unparalleled event and conference experiences. Having completed a lavish three-year, $640-million-dollar reimagination in 2020, the Miami Beach Convention Center's focus on comfortable, flexible spaces, top-notch meeting services, inspiring artwork, invigorating greenery, and a strong commitment to sustainable business practices and green building features sets a new standard for meetings and conventions. The venue includes the largest grand ballroom in South Florida at 60,000 square feet, four junior ballrooms, almost 500,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space, an expanded Grand Lobby, up to 84 breakout rooms, approximately 800 roof deck parking spaces, almost 2,100 miles of cabling to support all IT communications, As part of the City of Miami Beach Art in Public Places program, MBCC houses a $10.2 million-dollar art collection - and added two new art installations just last year. In addition to hosting Design Miami in Pride Park during Art Basel Miami Beach 2022, the unveiling of Irma and Norman Braman's generous donation of Jaume Plensa's unique sculpture, "Minna," took place at the same time as part of Art Week Miami Beach and added a new permanent art installation to Pride Park. In addition, as part of the City of Miami Beach Art in Public Places (AiPP), a new beautiful art piece from artist Farah Al Qasimi has been installed in the MBCC's East Lobby. It prides itself on hosting some of Miami's most talked-about international events. From Art Basel, Miami Beach to the Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show - the largest boat and yacht event in the world - MBCC has become the go-to venue for large-scale events in South Florida. In 2022, it hosted the first-ever ViVE conference, a combination tech-medical event that aims to facilitate business transformation in healthcare, followed by the world's largest Bitcoin event, Bitcoin 2022. Utilizing its outdoor spaces, the Miami Beach Convention Center also hosted the first-ever Sound Money Fest, a Bitcoin music festival in Pride Park. This year, guests can look forward to many of those events and more. Highlights of the 2023 calendar include the return of Art Basel Miami Beach, Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show, Bitcoin 2023, Expoverse, Swim Show 2023, America's Food & Beverage Show 2023, FIME 2023 (the largest medical device and equipment trade show in the Americas), and the exciting return of Aspen Ideas: Climate (a four-day event that brings together global and local policymakers, scientific experts, corporate leaders, inventors artists, young leaders, and changemakers to ideate ways to combat climate change). Most exciting, the Miami Beach Convention Center has been named the official host of Cosmoprof North America's first-ever Miami Beach Edition. This leading B2B beauty event, which takes place at MBCC from January 23-25, 2024, will bring together 32,000 retailers, e-commerce, distributors, importers, beauty brands, suppliers, beauty industry professionals, and more for never-before-seen brand unveilings and skin, nail, and hair product launches. A counterpart to Cosmoprof North America's Las Vegas convention, this east coast event was created specifically to connect with beauty industry professionals in the Latin American market. "In 2022, we experienced record-breaking events in Miami Beach, and in 2023, we are poised to experience the same," says Freddie Peterson, General Manager of the MBCC. "Our amazing and hard-working teams and wonderful venue partners are well-prepared and laser-focused on delivering exceptional events, driving excellence in customer service and venue management while creating memorable experiences. Together with the City of Miami Beach and the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, we welcome our attendees and exhibitors with open arms." An onsite headquarter hotel - the 800-room Grand Hyatt Miami Beach - is slated to open in 2025. Two of South Florida's premier real estate development groups, Terra and Turnberry, have selected Balfour Beatty as the general contractor for the new Grand Hyatt. Architecture giant Arquitectonica has designed the luxury lifestyle property that will directly connect to the Miami Beach Convention Center. Slated to open in November 2025, the 17-floor, 800-room Grand Hyatt will have 52 suites, a signature restaurant and lobby lounge and bar, gym, a resort-style pool deck with panoramic views, a members-only club lounge, and four floors of additional meeting space and ballrooms. Perfect for business and pleasure, the hotel will put guests in the heart of the City Center District, in walking distance to top Miami Beach attractions like South Beach, the Art Deco Historic District, Fillmore Theater (Live Nation), The New World Center, Miami Beach Botanical Garden and all of the shopping and dining on iconic Lincoln Road. Green spaces immerse event planners and guests in Miami's beautiful natural surroundings. In 2022, the MBCC activated Pride Park (6 acres) and Collins Canal Park (3 acres) for events like the Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show and Bitcoin 2022 Sound Music Fest. The team has completed major landscaping upgrades and improvements by planting carefully-selected native flora and fauna: 1,600 Liriope flowering plants, 825 Carissa Emerald Blanket bushes, 150 Burle Marx philodendron plants, 40 Saw Palmetto trees and 100 dwarf Fakahatchee grass plants were planted in Collins Canal Park, while two Brazilian Beauty trees were relocated from the new headquarter hotel site to Pride Park. Another outdoor area is set to debut soon, at the 1916-built Clubhouse, with the opening of the Rum Room and Venu. MBCC also has three outdoor terraces on its main campus - one outside the Sunset Ballroom and two outside the Grand Ballroom, which has earned nods as the largest ballroom in all of South Florida. As part of the City of Miami Beach's "Yes to Arts" funding, MBCC's adjacent Miami Beach Botanical Garden was granted a General Obligation bond for both aesthetic and foundational improvements in 2023. They include a new Japanese garden, general garden updates, facility upgrades, resiliency and sustainability plans, and improvements to safety, security, and accessibility. The Miami Beach Convention Center is located at 1901 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139. For more information, please visit (u)www.miamibeachconvention.com(eu).

Industry Briefs

THE MIAMI BEACH CONVENTION CENTER (MBCC) IS READY TO DO BIG THINGS IN 2023

Florida's popular large-scale event venue will debut a new restaurant and event space, new sustainability initiatives, an unparalleled wireless communications network, and a calendar of must-do events.

The past 12 months have been a major success for the Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC). In 2022, South Florida's premier convention center hosted approx. 560,000 guests at 67 regional, national, and international events, creating significant economic impact for the City of Miami Beach and the region. It earned five prestigious industry recognitions: the "Silver Stella 2022" (Northstar Meetings Group), the "Centers of Excellence Award" (Exhibitor Magazine), "Smart Stars 2022" (Smart Meetings Magazine), "Prime Site Award" (Facilities & Destinations), and "Reader's Choice Award" (ConventionSouth).

In 2023, the MBCC, which is an OVG360-managed venue, will only continue to grow. It is unveiling a highly anticipated restaurant and event venue, launching a new website in spring, and looks forward to hosting a robust calendar of high-profile events. Read below to find out more about what MBCC accomplished in 2022, all the exciting things to come in 2023, and why the Miami Beach Convention Center continues to be one of North America's top-tier convention centers.

The Miami Beach Convention Center continues to offer guests unparalleled event and conference experiences.

Having completed a lavish three-year, $640-million-dollar reimagination in 2020, the Miami Beach Convention Center's focus on comfortable, flexible spaces, top-notch meeting services, inspiring artwork, invigorating greenery, and a strong commitment to sustainable business practices and green building features sets a new standard for meetings and conventions. The venue includes the largest grand ballroom in South Florida at 60,000 square feet, four junior ballrooms, almost 500,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space, an expanded Grand Lobby, up to 84 breakout rooms, approximately 800 roof deck parking spaces, almost 2,100 miles of cabling to support all IT communications, As part of the City of Miami Beach Art in Public Places program, MBCC houses a $10.2 million-dollar art collection - and added two new art installations just last year. In addition to hosting Design Miami in Pride Park during Art Basel Miami Beach 2022, the unveiling of Irma and Norman Braman's generous donation of Jaume Plensa's unique sculpture, "Minna," took place at the same time as part of Art Week Miami Beach and added a new permanent art installation to Pride Park. In addition, as part of the City of Miami Beach Art in Public Places (AiPP), a new beautiful art piece from artist Farah Al Qasimi has been installed in the MBCC's East Lobby.

It prides itself on hosting some of Miami's most talked-about international events.

From Art Basel, Miami Beach to the Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show - the largest boat and yacht event in the world - MBCC has become the go-to venue for large-scale events in South Florida. In 2022, it hosted the first-ever ViVE conference, a combination tech-medical event that aims to facilitate business transformation in healthcare, followed by the world's largest Bitcoin event, Bitcoin 2022. Utilizing its outdoor spaces, the Miami Beach Convention Center also hosted the first-ever Sound Money Fest, a Bitcoin music festival in Pride Park.

This year, guests can look forward to many of those events and more. Highlights of the 2023 calendar include the return of Art Basel Miami Beach, Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show, Bitcoin 2023, Expoverse, Swim Show 2023, America's Food & Beverage Show 2023, FIME 2023 (the largest medical device and equipment trade show in the Americas), and the exciting return of Aspen Ideas: Climate (a four-day event that brings together global and local policymakers, scientific experts, corporate leaders, inventors artists, young leaders, and changemakers to ideate ways to combat climate change).

Most exciting, the Miami Beach Convention Center has been named the official host of Cosmoprof North America's first-ever Miami Beach Edition. This leading B2B beauty event, which takes place at MBCC from January 23-25, 2024, will bring together 32,000 retailers, e-commerce, distributors, importers, beauty brands, suppliers, beauty industry professionals, and more for never-before-seen brand unveilings and skin, nail, and hair product launches. A counterpart to Cosmoprof North America's Las Vegas convention, this east coast event was created specifically to connect with beauty industry professionals in the Latin American market.

"In 2022, we experienced record-breaking events in Miami Beach, and in 2023, we are poised to experience the same," says Freddie Peterson, General Manager of the MBCC. "Our amazing and hard-working teams and wonderful venue partners are well-prepared and laser-focused on delivering exceptional events, driving excellence in customer service and venue management while creating memorable experiences. Together with the City of Miami Beach and the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, we welcome our attendees and exhibitors with open arms."

An onsite headquarter hotel - the 800-room Grand Hyatt Miami Beach - is slated to open in 2025.

Two of South Florida's premier real estate development groups, Terra and Turnberry, have selected Balfour Beatty as the general contractor for the new Grand Hyatt. Architecture giant Arquitectonica has designed the luxury lifestyle property that will directly connect to the Miami Beach Convention Center. Slated to open in November 2025, the 17-floor, 800-room Grand Hyatt will have 52 suites, a signature restaurant and lobby lounge and bar, gym, a resort-style pool deck with panoramic views, a members-only club lounge, and four floors of additional meeting space and ballrooms. Perfect for business and pleasure, the hotel will put guests in the heart of the City Center District, in walking distance to top Miami Beach attractions like South Beach, the Art Deco Historic District, Fillmore Theater (Live Nation), The New World Center, Miami Beach Botanical Garden and all of the shopping and dining on iconic Lincoln Road.

Green spaces immerse event planners and guests in Miami's beautiful natural surroundings.

In 2022, the MBCC activated Pride Park (6 acres) and Collins Canal Park (3 acres) for events like the Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show and Bitcoin 2022 Sound Music Fest. The team has completed major landscaping upgrades and improvements by planting carefully-selected native flora and fauna: 1,600 Liriope flowering plants, 825 Carissa Emerald Blanket bushes, 150 Burle Marx philodendron plants, 40 Saw Palmetto trees and 100 dwarf Fakahatchee grass plants were planted in Collins Canal Park, while two Brazilian Beauty trees were relocated from the new headquarter hotel site to Pride Park.

Another outdoor area is set to debut soon, at the 1916-built Clubhouse, with the opening of the Rum Room and Venu. MBCC also has three outdoor terraces on its main campus - one outside the Sunset Ballroom and two outside the Grand Ballroom, which has earned nods as the largest ballroom in all of South Florida. As part of the City of Miami Beach's "Yes to Arts" funding, MBCC's adjacent Miami Beach Botanical Garden was granted a General Obligation bond for both aesthetic and foundational improvements in 2023. They include a new Japanese garden, general garden updates, facility upgrades, resiliency and sustainability plans, and improvements to safety, security, and accessibility.

The Miami Beach Convention Center is located at 1901 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139. For more information, please visit (u)www.miamibeachconvention.com(eu).