Building riverfront venues is the key to attracting lucrative fishing tournaments
By Lisa White, Hook, Line & Sinker
Published on November 2006

When looking to support a large audience, several fishing associations have found convention centers to be a great catch.

And the convention center managers — well, they’re taking the bait hook, line and sinker. Several convention centers are now playing host to large-scale fishing tournaments and drawing in a large number of attendees. Continue reading “Hook, Line & Sinker” »

Resurgence in culture and arts pays off for the insurance capital
By Jane Roy Brown, Boston Globe
Published on 11/01/2006

Picturing Hartford as a travel destination may seem like a stretch for New Englanders, for whom the city conjures visions of insurance company headquarters (or, for those with long memories, a convention center cave-in, a corrupt governor, and a lost hockey team). But the capital of “the land of steady habits,” as Connecticut was once dubbed in reference to the moral rectitude of its citizens, is emerging from its gray-flannel cocoon. Thanks to a conscious effort and a walloping infusion of public and private cash, a rebound is in progress, building on assets that younger cities often lack: a compact urban center, a sense of history, spacious parks, and an established arts community. Glamorous developments of late include Adriaen’s Landing, a riverside complex linking the new Connecticut Convention Center, Marriott Downtown Hotel, and Connecticut Science Center (still under construction by the New Haven firm of world-famous architect Cesar Pelli). Continue reading “On the rebound” »