Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/3108
Now Open: Bass Concert Hall at the University of Texas Performing Arts Center. The University's flagship 3,000- seat theater has completed a $14.7 mil- lion renovation. This new glass facade has a five-story, light-filled lobby with an elegant restaurant and has new seating and flooring, state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and other updates. The Lance Armstrong Bikeway is under construction. The long anticipated bikeway will enable bicyclists to travel east and west on a dedicated route through downtown. The path consists of a combination of off-street concrete trails, on-street striped bike lanes, and on-street signed bike routes. The Long Center for Performing Arts, a world-class facility, continues to provide a permanent, acoustically per- fect performance space and meeting area. The Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art has more than 17,000 works of as part of the collection at the nation's largest uni- versity art museum. Located on campus at the University of Texas, it showcases American, contemporary Latin American and European art. The second phase of construction, the Edgar A. Smith Building, opens this fall and includes an auditorium, lecture hall, café, bookstore and outdoor gardens and plaza. Kimber Modern, a European-style bed-and-breakfast features seven mod- ern guestrooms located just off South Congress Avenue, is now open. It's within walking distance of eclectic dining, vintage shopping and live music. Urban design, natural light and do-it-yourself amenities cater to urban travelers, who enjoy everything from keyless entry to wireless Internet and iPod docks in each room. Centered around an expansive patio, the Kimber Modern is ideal for meeting gatherers. Hotel Saint Cecilia, a boutique 14- room hotel just off South Congress Avenue, in Austin's hippest neighbor- hood, was named in honor of the patron saint of music. This hotel offers private bungalows, a new pool and modern lounge. AT&T's Executive Education and Conference Center at the University of Texas, the newest meeting facility on the University of Texas campus, includes a 300-seat amphitheatre, 800-seat divisible ballroom, classrooms, conference rooms and breakout rooms. The center will house 297 guestrooms and three dining outlets Austin is excited about several new hotels in progress — the Westin, an 18- story, 300-room hotel in Austin's popular Warehouse District with 15,000 sq. ft. of meeting space; the Block 21/W Hotel project – A W Hotel anchored by 200 luxury condominiums, studios and a nightclub, co-owned by Willie Nelson; and a Marriott Hotel Complex housing two Marriott-branded hotels. This proj- ect will add 1,000 rooms to the down- town hotel package and will serve as a convention center hotel. Together, the hotels include 50,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and two large ballrooms. The Austin Convention Center offers nearly 900,000 total sq. ft. More than 290,000 sq. ft. is devoted to exhibit space and can accommodate 1,600 booths. Contact (800) 926-2282 or www.- austintexas.org. BEAUMONT With satisfied planners, new hotels and gorgeous facilities, Beaumont has everyone talking. More than 30 hotels. Over 3,300 rooms. Two large convention centers. Two full-service convention hotels. BIG options. Combine this vari- ety of flexible venues with unique offsite facilities such as museums and beautiful- ly renovated theatres, and you have more choices than you thought possible! Green meeting facilities and sustain- able catering practices make Beau- mont's Ford Park Event Center an attractive facility for environment-con- Black Meetings & Tourism April/May 2009: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com Photo Credit: Kent Metschan Dell Hall Long Center for the Performing Arts Photo Credit: BeaumontCVB Service is tops at Beaumont Area Hotels 40