The big news in Florida is downtown. Cities offer new entertainment, restaurants, and shopping, while construction near the convention centers is at an all-time high.

In Orlando, a $1.1 billion downtown sports-and-arts venue plan was recently approved by city and county leaders. It includes a $480 million special-events center that will serve as home to the NBA's Orlando Magic and a $425 million performing arts center. Both are slated for completion in 2010.

On Orlando's International Drive, Pointe Orlando, a shopping and dining complex one block from the Orange County Convention Center, is in the final stages of an extensive redevelopment.

In downtown Tampa, three new museums — Tampa Bay History Center, Tampa Museum of Art, and Children's Museum of Tampa — are slated to open by 2009. In addition, TECO Line Streetcar System, with its current terminus at the Embassy Suites Downtown-Convention Center, has been extended with a new stop at the Hyatt Regency Tampa in downtown.

Miami saw the debut last year of a performing arts center as well as the expansion of the Miami Seaquarium.

The historic Clematis District in West Palm Beach is becoming an evening entertainment haven for groups, with the introduction of more than 20 new restaurants this year. The long-awaited convention center hotel is on its way with the approval of a $100 million-plus plan to build an upscale, 400-room, 25-story hotel to open in 2010.

In Panama City on the Gulf of Mexico, a new international airport with a 100,000-square-foot terminal is in the planning stages; if all goes according to plan, it will open by early 2010.

Facilities Update

The West Coast

Tampa/St. Petersburg

Scheduled to open in 2009 in downtown St. Petersburg is the $100 million Grand Bohemian Hotel & Residences, which will feature 260 guest rooms and 16,000 square feet of meeting space.

The 620-unit Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club, with 72 holes of golf and 65,000 square feet of meeting space, was purchased by Salamander Hospitality LLC, a Middleburg, Va., which also owns Woodlands Resort and Inn near Charleston, S.C.

The 323-room InterContinental Tampa opened in August with 21,000 square feet of meeting space.

Slated for January completion is a refurbishment at the 521-room Hyatt Regency Tampa, which will include guest rooms, corridors, lobby, and 30,000 square feet of meeting space.

Clearwater

The 253-room Sandpearl Resort is the first new beachfront resort in the area in 25 years. It features 25,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 5,000-square-foot ballroom and a 6,700-square-foot event lawn.

Sarasota

The 218-unit Longboat Key Club & Resort completed a $6.5 million renovation this summer.

Lee Island Coast

Fort Myers

The 227-room Crowne Plaza Hotel at Bell Tower, with 12,000 square feet of meeting space, recently completed a $6 million renovation.

Naples

Slated for January completion is a multi-million-dollar renovation at the 218-room Naples Beach Resort, which includes enhancement of its guest rooms, suites, and corridors. The improvements follow a six-year, $40 million enhancement that was completed in 2006.

The Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa, an 85-acre complex set on a peninsula overlooking Sanibel and Captiva Islands near Fort Myers, has 45,000 square feet of meeting space and 400 guest rooms, 66 suites, and 53 condominiums.

Central Florida

Greater Orlando

Scheduled to debut late summer 2009 is the 1,400-room Hilton Orlando Hotel at Orange County Convention Center. It will feature 130,000 square feet of meeting space, including 38 meeting rooms and a 50,000-square-foot grand ballroom, as well as a 15,000-square-foot spa and fitness center.

In October, the Orlando World Center Marriott celebrated the grand opening of its 105,000-square-foot Cypress Ballroom. The facility also has more than 50,000 square feet of new pre-function meeting space. The Cypress can be connected to the Palms Ballroom to create more than 160,000 square feet of meeting space. The Orlando Marriott offers a total of 450,000 square feet of flexible event space.

Ravallo Resort & Conference Center, a new $520 million, 900-unit luxury condominium/hotel, will begin construction in March 2008 in Lake Buena Vista. Amenities will include a spa, fitness center, and 140,000 square feet of meeting space. The first phase is expected to open in 2010.

The 146-unit Villas of Grand Cypress at Grand Cypress completed a $600,000 update of its 28,000-square-foot clubhouse. The refurbishment included a new restaurant, Nine18, that replaces the Black Swan. Nine18 seats 90.

Kissimmee

The 444-room Holiday Inn Main Gate East completed a $10 million renovation in September. Formerly the world's largest Travelodge, the hotel has more than 4,000 square feet of meeting space and wireless high-speed Internet.

The 922-room Orlando Sun Resort and Convention Center by Lexington, formerly the Hyatt Orlando, recently opened with meeting space including a 13,550-square-foot ballroom, a 20,000-square-foot exhibit hall, and 22 meeting rooms.

South Florida & The Keys

Greater Miami

The 156-room Crowne Plaza Miami Kendall, with 5,000 square feet of meeting space, opened this past summer.

Fontainebleau Miami Beach is set to complete a $1 billion expansion/renovation in 2008.

The 790-room Loews Miami Beach Hotel on South Beach opened a $12 million, 18,000-square-foot Elemis Spa.

The 250-room Sole on the Ocean in Sunny Isles Beach, with 5,000 square feet of meeting space, opened in October.

The Keys

Opened in October, the 222-room Beachside Resort & Conference Center features 6,000 square feet of meeting space, including a ballroom that can accommodate up to 400 guests.

Greater Fort Lauderdale

Set on three acres of prime beachfront property in Pompano Beach, the 303-suite Fairmont Pompano Beach Resort, scheduled for completion in 2011, will include a 20,000-square-foot spa and meeting space.

The 166-room, $240 million St. Regis Resort, Fort Lauderdale opened in May on Fort Lauderdale Beach with 24,000 square feet of meeting space.

Scheduled for completion late 2008 are two new Donald Trump condominium/hotel developments on Fort Lauderdale Beach. Construction has begun on Trump International Hotel & Tower Fort Lauderdale, with 301 one- and two-bedroom suites. The Trump Las Olas Beach Resort will have 95 units.

Slated to open next year is the $205 million, 346-room W Hotel, offering 15,000 square feet of meeting space and the 10,000-square-foot Bliss Spa.

The 384-room Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six Resort & Spa has undergone a $25 million renovation.

Palm Beach County

The 270-room Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach will debut a 28,000-square-foot spa in late 2008.

Northern Florida

Jacksonville

The 190-room OneOcean Resort in Atlantic Beach, formerly the Sea Turtle Inn, with 8,000 square feet of meeting space, is undergoing a propertywide refurbishment set for completion in January.

Panama City Beach

Carillon Beach Resort & Spa opened recently. It includes the 70-unit Carillon Beach Inn and is in the walkable village of Carillon Beach, which has meeting space for small groups.

Trip Tips!

• The Miami Dragon Boat Club offers a cultural teambuilding experience through the 2,000-year-old sport of dragon boat racing for groups of 20 to 200. www.miamidragon.com

• Some of Florida's best private golf courses are accessible to guests and groups that stay there. Properties with meeting space and play privileges include the Ginn Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast (new Tom Fazio-designed The Conservatory); Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando (Bay Hill); and Watercolor Inn near Panama City Beach (Greg Norman's Shark's Tooth and Tom Fazio's Camp Creek Golf Club).

Ask the CVB

Visit Florida
(850) 488-5607
www.visitflorida.org

Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
(800) 544-0415
www.daytonabeachcvb.org

Florida Keys & Key West CVB
(800) Ask-keys
www.fla-keys.com

Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB
(954) 765-4466
www.sunny.org

Kissimmee CVB
(407) 847-5000
www.floridakiss.com

Greater Miami CVB
(305) 539-3000,
(800) 933-8448
www.MiamiandBeaches.com

Orlando/Orange County CVB
(407) 363-5872
www.orlandoinfo.com/meetings

Palm Beach County CVB
(561) 233-3000
www.palmbeachfl.com

St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area CVB
(877) 352-3224;
(727) 464-7200
www.floridasbeach.com

Beaches of South Walton
(800) 822-6877
www.beachesofsouthwalton.com

Tampa Bay & Company
(813) 223-1111
www.visittampabay.com

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• U.S. Destinations - For more information on meeting venues in the U.S.