Planners have another meeting venue option in Pittsburgh with the opening of the Fairmont Pittsburgh March 29 downtown in the Market Square District. The hotel resides at Three PNC Plaza, a mixed-use building that is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified. The Fairmont Pittsburgh was built according to sustainable design and construction guidelines and is anticipating a LEED Gold certification to complement the chain's philosophy of responsible tourism.

The hotel features 185 guest rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows, 12,000 square feet of event space, a 6,000-square-foot health club, and a full-service restaurant called Habitat.

Venue Updates

Allstream Centre
Toronto

The News: The center opened in October 2009.

Specs: The 160,000-square-foot center has 20 meeting rooms and Toronto's largest ballroom, at 43,900 square feet.

Extra: It is the first LEED Silver-certified conference center in Canada and is connected to the Direct Energy Centre, which offers an additional 1 million square feet of exhibition space.

FSU Conference Center
Tallahassee, Fla.

The News: The 47,000-square-foot center opened in February 2010.

Specs: It features a 400-seat auditorium, a 320-seat dining room, an executive boardroom, and eight breakout rooms.

Extra: The conference center also offers three video walls, LCD screens, webcasting, wireless Internet, and e-media services.

The InterContinental
New York Times Square

The News: The 36-story hotel is expected to open in July near the Javits Convention Center.

Specs: 607 guest rooms, 10,000 square feet of meeting space including a 4,000-square-foot ballroom

Extra: The LEED-certified hotel will be the largest new-build hotel to open in New York since 2002.

Lansdowne Resort
Lansdowne, Va.

The News: In January, the property signed IACC's “Gold Tier Code of Sustainability,” signifying that it has achieved 85 percent of the association's suggested green initiatives.

Specs: The 45,000-square-foot center offers 296 guest rooms, a multipool aquatic complex, 45 holes of golf, six dining facilities, and Spa Minérale, a full-service spa.

News Makers:

• Twinsburg, Ohio?based meeting and events company Experient has appointed Jeff Price president and CEO. Price succeeds interim president and CEO George Benson, who was appointed in June 2008.

• Peter J. Regan has been named director of sales and marketing at The Wyndham Virginia Crossings Hotel & Conference Center in Richmond, Va. He comes to the hotel from The Tides Inn in Irvington, Va.