Louisville snags trade show with estimated $6.7 million impact
By Caitlin Bowling | Posted on September 21, 2017Connect Marketplace’s trade show will bring 1,500 to 2,000 meeting and event planners to Louisville in 2019. Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau announced Thursday afternoon that the trade show would be held in the new convention center downtown in August 2019, and have an...
Street Rod Nationals commits to Louisville through 2025
By Caitlin Bowling | Posted on August 2, 2017Louisville already has hosted the Street Rod Nationals for more than 23 years, but the convention plans to make that more than 28 years, the National Street Rod Association announced on Wednesday. The association has committed to holding the event, which showcases thousands of...
Two conventions drop out of negotiations with Louisville due to state law perceived as discriminatory
By Melissa Chipman | Posted on June 29, 2017A ban on state-funded travel to Kentucky called for by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has brought nationwide attention to a new law about religious or political expression in schools that could allow LGBTQ+ discrimination. This recently caused two large conventions to withdraw plans to come...
An early look inside the $321 million Omni Louisville
By Caitlin Bowling | Posted on March 16, 2017Each week, the $321 million Omni Louisville Hotel reaches higher into Louisville’s skyline. With roughly a year left in the construction process, however, the hotel and high-end apartment development has a long way to go. More than 700 workers have together built the foundation...
Industry trade show commits to Louisville in 2020
By Caitlin Bowling | Posted on February 10, 2017The International Association of Exhibitions and Events will host its annual meeting, Expo! Expo!, in Louisville in December 2020, Louisville tourism officials announced Friday morning. IAEE is a global organization for exhibition and event industry professionals, and its annual meeting is a trade show for...
Major sports-related conference returning to Louisville in 2018
By Caitlin Bowling | Posted on December 9, 2016A big sports-related conference will return to Louisville in time to take advantage of the newly renovated convention center and the new Omni downtown. When the TEAMS ’18 Conference and Expo comes to Louisville in October 2018, the four-day conference will have an estimated $1.4 million...
The Closing Bell: Mitigating the impact of convention center closure; Humana, Aetna stock up over July; another Butchertown biz; and more
By Staff | Posted on August 19, 2016Welcome to The Closing Bell. This is your last stop for biz scoops and big news before the weekend — a roundup of stories that can’t wait till Monday. Louisville CVB books millions in events during two-year convention center closure Staff at the Louisville...
Louisville CVB issues $148 million in bonds for convention center renovations
By Caitlin Bowling | Posted on August 17, 2016The day after the Kentucky International Convention Center closed for two years of renovations, the Greater Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau finalized details for financing that will pay for the majority of the $207 million in upgrades. Bank of America Merrill Lynch will issue a 30-year, $148 million...
CVB: Louisville continues to draw impactful events despite convention center closure
By Caitlin Bowling | Posted on August 11, 2016Standing on a riser in the soon-to-be-closed Kentucky International Convention Center, American Bus Association president and CEO Peter Pantuso spoke about why his organization is returning to Louisville in 2019. “We had an amazing convention here in January,” he said. “We’ve been doing this...
Report: Louisville hotel room rates expected to rise 13.9 percent as supply and demand increase
By Caitlin Bowling | Posted on May 24, 2016The economic principle of supply and demand generally rings true, but when it comes to the hotel market in Louisville, the principle, to a certain point, doesn’t apply. With nearly 2,200 new hotel rooms coming online in Louisville during the next several years, a...