Nashville Officially Breaks Ground on New Music City Center
City leaders officially broke ground on the new 1.2 million-square-foot Music City Center today during a ceremony on the site of the new center. In addition to local dignitaries, representatives from organizations that have pre-booked the MCC were on hand including ASAE, AGD, AAHSA and Tractor Supply.

The Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau (NCVB) hosted and produced the morning’s ceremonial groundbreaking event which included musical performances by Transit and local recording artist Gabe Dixon and a brief fireworks display as construction equipment broke ground.

The new 1.2 million-square-foot Music City Center will feature a 350,000-square-foot exhibit hall acoustically designed to double as a concert hall, more than 50 meeting rooms, two ballrooms and approximately 36 loading docks for the ultimate in flexibility and ease.

The center is scheduled for completion in early 2013. Convention planners have already booked 28 events representing more than 301,000 room nights.

Music City Station on Pandora.com
You can now find Music City on Pandora.com! The Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau (NCVB) is partnering with Pandora.com to expose Music City to the site’s 6.8 million monthly unique visitors.

Pandora, an automated music recommendation and Internet radio service, allows users to enter a song or artist that they enjoy, and the service responds by playing selections that are musically similar.

The NCVB has custom-built a Pandora station titled “Nashville Mixtape” which consists of 80 tracks, 12 artists and 12 albums that represent Music City and its wide range of musical genres. The Nashville station will be available to the public for 30 days. Pandora has also created an iPhone banner advertisement promoting the Music City station to appear on its site in targeted geographical areas.

To listen to Nashville’s Mixtape visit www.visitmusiccity.com/visitors/pandora and click on “Listen to Music City’s Playlist.”

Nashville to Market Awesome April Celebration
Nashville will once again roll out the red carpet and welcome spring’s arrival with scores of festivals, concerts, award shows and exhibitions—each unique to Music City—and the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau (NCVB) will market the celebration to visitors as “Awesome April” in Music City.

The annual “Awesome April” campaign packages and promotes events like Tin Pan South, the Nashville Film Festival and the Country Music Marathon to visitors around the country. Nashville has seen strong growth in individual event attendance and visitor spending since the NCVB began the program in 2002.

The full list of Awesome April events is posted at www.visitmusiccity.com/visitors/awesomeapril.

We Need Your Help - Order Your Music City License Plate Today
Express your love for music and the city it calls home with a new Music City specialty license plate designed by the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau (NCVB) to benefit the organization’s Music City, Inc. foundation. Applications for the plate, which will feature the city’s signature branded red music note, are currently being accepted. We must sell 1,000 plates by June and we have a long way to go!

There is a $36 registration fee required for each vehicle you wish to tag using a Music City-branded plate. Tennessee residents wishing to purchase a new Music City plate can fill out a form online at www.visitmusiccity.com/licenseplate or print the form and mail it with their $36 check to the address at the bottom. Forms are also available at Regions Bank branches throughout the city. Please order yours today!

Industry Indicators
January’s hotel occupancy rate was 44.6 percent, a decrease of 7.8 percent compared to January 2009.

The 2010 occupancy rate is 44.6 percent, a decrease of 7.8 percent compared to 2009.

January hotel tax collections were $1,450,766, a decrease of 4 percent compared to January 2009.

The 2010 year-end tax collections are $1,450,766, a decrease of 4 percent compared to 2009.

Brand Champion - Ohio Valley Conference
The Music City brand isn’t only promoted by organizations and businesses that call Nashville home. There are many groups outside of the city that adopt the brand for the events they hold here. Our March Brand Champion is a great example. The Ohio Valley Conference awards their Men’s and Women’s championship teams with gold records each year! The conference says this unique award has become a signature piece of their championship series and the teams really look forward to receiving such special trophies. For this show of brandsmanship, the Ohio Valley Conference is our March Brand Champion!

Upcoming Events
All Access Disability Training
March 24
NCVB Boardroom
2-4 p.m.
This open training session on disability sensitivity has been presented to countless hotels, attractions, restaurants, and Metropolitan police officers and is legally mandated for every Nashville cab driver. With representatives from all partnering contributors, All Access introduces participants to People First Language, disability etiquette and seizure first aid.

Sell Nashville Meeting
March 25
NCVB Boardroom
7:45-8 a.m. Networking
8-9 a.m. Sell Nashville Meeting
Sell Nashville is a bi-monthly meeting that provides insight into current Nashville CVB sales and marketing efforts. This is also an opportunity to share information on upcoming events, new exhibits, renovations and more.

New Member Orientation
April 22
NCVB Boardroom
11:15-11:45 a.m. Lunch & Network
11:50 a.m.-12:50 p.m. Orientation
Learn how you can make the most of your NCVB membership at the New Member Orientation. Lunch will be provided by Demos' Steak and Spaghetti House.

Conventions & Meetings Calendar