Minneapolis (March 22, 2018) – Today, Meet Minneapolis recapped its big wins in 2017 and discussed future initiatives at its 2018 Annual Meeting at the Minneapolis Convention Center. President and CEO, Melvin Tennant, announced the organization exceeded all of its Key Performance Indicators for 2017, including total room nights and revenue for the Minneapolis Convention Center. Tennant stressed the importance of those numbers in terms of their economic impact and benefit to the overall community.

“Today there are nearly 35-thousand* women and men who depend on our industry for their livelihoods,” said Tennant. “The role of Meet Minneapolis is to be the steward of the city’s brand. By marketing the city, attracting conventions and conferences, and securing sporting events, we also help create jobs, bolster our tourism and hospitality industries, and contribute to the success and vibrancy of Minneapolis for all residents.”

Details from the Meet Minneapolis 2018 Annual Meeting included:

Meet Minneapolis Key Performance Indicators

Room Nights: 648,450 total room nights booked reaching 109% of the goal for 2017
Minneapolis Convention Center: Revenue of $19.6 million, surpassing the 2017 goal by 105%
Private Revenue: Meet Minneapolis raised $3.05 million in private revenue or 121% of the goal for 2017

Minneapolis Convention Center

Part of Meet Minneapolis’ role is to attract conferences and conventions to the Minneapolis Convention Center (MCC). Last year, the MCC had a record year with $19.6 million in revenue, which exceeded all other years by more than $1 million. The MCC hosted 380 meetings, conventions and trade shows for the year, with 819,000 attendees. That helped support more than 7,500 jobs in the community.

“At our core, the Minneapolis Convention Center is a jobs creator and an economic engine for our city,” said Minneapolis Convention Center Executive Director Jeff Johnson.

The MCC also made big advances on its sustainability initiatives, earning both LEED and Green Meeting Industry Council certifications. Its storm water system captured five million gallons of untreated storm run-off which is used to irrigate the Convention Center grounds, saving potable water and preventing potentially harmful runoff from reaching the Mississippi River.

The momentum has continued into this year. In addition to being the venue for this year’s Super Bowl Experience and VIP tailgating party, Meet Minneapolis has secured major conferences and events for the following organizations, which will be held at the MCC:

• National Education Association
• American Legion
• National Baptist Convention
• Society of Women Engineers

Sports Minneapolis

Sports Minneapolis, which is part of Meet Minneapolis, works to attract, retain and create major amateur, collegiate and professional sporting events in the metro area for the benefit of the local community. In 2017, Sports Minneapolis helped bring more than 70 sporting events to this region including the ESPN X Games and the 38th annual USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships. Sports Minneapolis also presented the inaugural Minnesota Sports Awards at Target Center in December.

High-profile sporting events in 2018, in addition to successfully partnering with the Super Bowl Host Committee, will include:

• ESPN X Games at U.S. Bank Stadium
• WNBA All Star Game at Target Center
• NCAA Women’s 2018 Division I Volleyball Championship at Target Center
• National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC) Symposium for sports tourism at the MCC

Destination Branding and Strategy

The Meet Minneapolis 2018 Annual Meeting also focused on new destination marketing and branding initiatives featuring a new website (www.Minneapolis.org) rich with information to help visitors “travel like a local” and a new video emphasizing “You’ve never met a place quite like this.” Other big wins included:

New visitor guides on the website highlighting 12 unique neighborhoods across the city
Influencing more than 900 stories featuring information on Minneapolis and/or the convention center for 2.32 billion earned impressions
Efforts to get Minneapolis named to prestigious “best of” lists including Condé Nast Traveler’s “18 Best Places to Travel in 2018” and Frommer’s “20 Top Destinations for a Winter Vacation in the U.S.A.”

Awards and Recognition

Finally, Meet Minneapolis recognized the outstanding achievements of the following individuals and groups:

Excellence in Meetings, Events & Conventions Award – This award is for an individual, institution or organization whose efforts will result in an impact to the city for years. Award winner: University of Minnesota Athletics
Innovation in Tourism Award – This honor is presented annually to an individual or organization that contributes to an advancement of the hospitality community impacting the destination’s visitors and attendees. Award winner: Minneapolis Downtown Council and City of Minneapolis
President’s Award – This award honors an individual or organization that contributes significantly to the visitor experience of Minneapolis. Award winner: Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee
Lifetime Achievement Award – Presented this year to former Minneapolis City Council President Barbara Johnson

For more information on Meet Minneapolis’ accomplishments, please visit: Minneapolis Scores Big: 2017 Annual Report.

* Number has been updated due to new data available as of Aug. 1

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ABOUT MEET MINNEAPOLIS

Meet Minneapolis is a private, not-for-profit, member-based association. It actively promotes and sells the Minneapolis area as a destination for conventions and meetings, works to maximize the visitor experience and markets the city as a desirable tourist destination to maximize the economic benefit to the greater Minneapolis area.

Meet Minneapolis is accredited by the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) of Destinations International.

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MEDIA CONTACT

Kim Insley, Meet Minneapolis Public Relations and Communication Manager, 612-767-8119

KimI@minneapolis.org

Or email MeetMinneapolisPR@Minneapolis.org