February 1 saw the grand opening of a 9,500-seat multipurpose arena in Savannah, Ga., that will be of particular use to convention and trade-show planners once the expansion of the city’s convention center is complete in fall 2023.
Named Enmarket Arena, the new venue is located two miles from the city’s riverfront district, where the convention center and about 2,000 hotel rooms are located. Built with attendee interaction in mind even while a sporting event or musical performance is taking place, the facility features two circular bars set within wide promenade areas located at one end of the venue; these promenades have unobstructed views of the action on the 200-foot by 80-foot floor below. There are also 12 luxury suites, five lodge boxes, and a party suite that’s ideal for pre-performance mingling.
One meeting-entertainment option that will take place at the arena: A new minor-league hockey team named the Savannah Ghost Pirates will play 36 games there between October 2022 and March 2023.
An eight-minute drive from the arena, Savannah’s River Street historic district is where an Autograph by Marriott, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Hyatt Regency, Marriott, and JW Marriott sit on the south bank of the river, looking across at the convention center and the 403-room Westin Savannah Resort on the north bank. It’s a three-minute ferry ride from the more than 1,500 guest rooms on the south bank to the convention center and the adjacent Westin. In total, Savannah has about 12,000 event-committable hotel rooms.
The $271-million expansion plan for Savannah Convention Center (rendering at left) will bring the exhibit hall up to 200,000 square feet of space with a 58-foot-wide hangar-style door made of glass; add a 40,000 square-foot ballroom plus 15 more breakout rooms; and create a 900-space on-site parking garage. The $271-million project is expected to move the center’s ranking from 151st largest in the nation to 72nd.
“We are still on schedule for late 2023 and are booking for January 2024 and beyond,” says Angela Daniels, director of sales, marketing, and events for the center.
