When the Dunkin’ Donuts Center reopens for the Providence Bruins home opener Nov. 14 – after nearly six months of renovations – there will be new life-safety systems, luxury suite towers, a complete overhaul of the arena’s physical infrastructure and mechanical systems. And most important for the meetings and convention business, there will be a pedestrian bridge connecting it to the R.I. Convention Center.
“When a facility like this is overhauled, it greatly increases our ability to attract big events to the city,” said Martha Sheridan, president and CEO of the Providence Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau.
One such event is the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament slated for 2010. The direct economic impact cannot be predicted – although when the event last came to Providence in 1996, it is estimated that it poured $10 million into the local economy.
Hotel rooms are expected to be filled with NCAA teams, media and spectators who will eat and hopefully shop in the city during the event, Sheridan said.
Having the Dunk connected to the Convention Center makes it more attractive to events that would use both facilities, such as the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating U.S. Synchronized Team Skating Championships. With this leverage, PWCVB has been able to get in the door at the NCAA and talk about holding gymnastic championships, regional hockey games, national cheerleading competitions and other events, Sheridan said.
The rest of the country seems to be taking notice. In August, Providence was listed in the Wall Street Journal as one of the top 10 cities of the world poised to be a major travel destination – the only U.S. city to make the list.
Next summer, the Dunk will be closed one last time to replace all the seats, a project expected to take about 10 to 12 weeks, said Kerrie L. Bennett, projects manager at the R.I. Convention Center Authority. The total cost of the renovations is $80 million.
Before closing for construction, the Dunk had a good season, hosting 123 events with an estimated attendance of 597,000 in the 8 months from Sept. 22, 2006, through May 21, 2007. During the previous full year, July 2005 through June 2006, it had hosted121 events with an estimated total attendance of 596,000.
Fitting the theme of renovation and growth, new hotels have popped up within walking distance of the Convention Center and the Dunk. The long-awaited Renaissance Providence Hotel opened with 272 rooms in June and the Convention Center’s anchor hotel, The Westin Providence Hotel, opened more than 200 additional rooms in August.
The building boom seems to be paying off. In 2006, there were 11 meetings that used the convention center or the Dunk that had a minimum of one night for which 500 hotel rooms were booked. This yearm there are 12 definite bookings with 500-plus rooms. In 2008, there are 13 definite bookings and one tentative booking at that level.
Room occupancy rates have increased slightly since last year, according to Smith Travel Research. In 2006, occupancy averaged 63 percent, with an average room rate of $150.72. This year, with an average rate of $156.75 per night, occupancy is 65 percent.
“It’s still an early trend. We are being cautiously optimistic,” Sheridan said. •
