Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/4253
V irginia's past is the beginning of the nation's his- tory and heritage. From the first permanent English settlement of Jamestown in 1607 through the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, Virginia was where the nation originated, where it prospered and where many of our nation's conflicts were resolved. Virginia meet- ing facilities have set a standard across the board in terms of how well they want to convey the point that their venues offer the best and most sophisticated amenities, features and services that any establishment in the nation has to offer. Great examples of venues that support group meetings of all sizes in the state are Virginia Beach Convention Center, Richmond Convention Center and Hampton Convention Center just to name a few. These facilities along with others have undergone major upgrades and renovations over the past few years in efforts to add meeting space for larger events, facilitate in-house meeting planning and make the environment on premises as comfortable as possible for group meeting participants. Black Meetings & Tourism October/November 2009: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 86 V I R G I N I A Virginia Special Advertising Section www.virginia.org GREATER RICHMOND CONVENTION CENTER The Greater Richmond Convention Center is Virginia's largest meeting and exhibition facility. The contemporary 700,000 gross-sq. ft. facility features 178,159 sq. ft. of contigu- ous exhibit space and 80,000 sq. ft. of meeting space including a 30,550-sq. ft., dividable Grand Ballroom and a 258-seat, auditorium-style lecture hall. In all meeting rooms, exhibit halls and ballroom there are state-of-the-art sound systems and outlets for power, data and phone. Recently, the center upgraded its Internet capabilities to the DS3 circuit. The cen- ter can now accommodate client requests for dedicated seg- ments of bandwidth ranging from 1.5 Mbps to 15 Mbps, equaling service at even the largest exhibition properties across the country like centers found in Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The GRCC features an on- site business center and a cyber café with free wireless Internet and six Internet kiosks. There are 1,540 covered parking spots adjacent to the center. A 400-room hotel is con- nected to the center, with another 250-room hotel across from the Center. With easy access to major highways and the airport, over half the U.S. population is within a 500-mile