FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MINNEAPOLIS HOTEL REVENUE INCREASED 59 PERCENT DURING ALL-STAR WEEK

Events drove hotel occupancy gains and hotel room rates grew by as much as 74 percent

MINNEAPOLIS, JULY 23, 2014 Meet Minneapolis, Convention & Visitors Association, today announced that Minneapolis hotel revenue increased 59 percent during All-Star Week over a year ago, according to the Smith Travel Research (STR) report released this morning. The events of the 85th Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game drove hotel occupancy gains for the Minneapolis hotel community to nearly 100 percent capacity on July 14 and 15. The events also increased room rates by as much as 74 percent vs. a year ago, with average rates above $265 on Monday and Tuesday nights.

The MLB All-Star Game was an outstanding event for Minneapolis hotels and the hospitality community, said SUSAN MABRY, COMPLEX GENERAL MANAGER OF THE W MINNEAPOLIS THE FOSHAY AND LE MÉRIDIEN CHAMBERS HOTELS. This follows what has already been a very busy month in the city that has increased both our occupancy and revenue to our hotels.

Additionally, T-Mobile All-Star FanFest attendees at the Minneapolis Convention Center (MCC) spent an estimated $9 million in the city. According to MLB*, 114,878 fans attended the family friendly, interactive baseball theme park from July 11-15. These fans are estimated to have each spent approximately $79 per day, which is the average Minneapolis visitor spending per person per day (including local and out-of-town visitors) according to D.K. Shifflet & Associates, Ltd. (2011).

This attendee spending estimate is based in an analytical approach that assumes FanFest is a singular event and does not take into account the fact that some FanFest attendees participated in other All-Star week events. Meet Minneapolis does not have the capability to capture the number of people that attended multiple events or the number of local versus out-of-town attendees.

Clearly MLB All-Star Week exceeded our expectations, said MELVIN TENNANT, PRESIDENT AND CEO, MEET MINNEAPOLIS. While the positive results continue to roll in -- from these outstanding hotel numbers, to the tax revenue generated and direct spending estimates ultimately, one of the most impactful results for Meet Minneapolis is that the nearly 30,000 Minneapolis hospitality employees were working and making a good living for themselves and their families.

DAVE ST. PETER, MINNESOTA TWINS PRESIDENT, added to the positive news that in just three days of events at Target Field, tax revenues also are showing successful results for the city, county and state. We project nearly $3 million in sales tax paid by Major League Baseball, the Minnesota Twins and DNC Sportservice for ASG events at Target Field including approximately $845,000 in taxes paid directly to the City of Minneapolis, he said. And that number could be low because DNC is still in the process of finalizing its numbers.

The current estimate of more than $2.7 million in tax collections for those three days of Midsummer Classic events at Target Field includes those paid to the State of Minnesota, Hennepin County and the City of Minneapolis.

The MLB All-Star Game and related events joined the July Shriners International Imperial Session and June-July USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championships in what has been a record-breaking summer for Minneapolis with a combined $169 million estimated economic impact for just those three major events.

Continuing the busy summer season, Meet Minneapolis will welcome important industry event Meeting Professionals International 2014 World Education Congress and its 2,500 meeting professional members to the city in early August with a $5 million estimated economic impact and, in mid-August, the National Conference of State Legislatures Legislative Summit with 5,000 attendees and an estimated $10 million economic impact.

_*MLB reported the numbers of attendees at various events during All-Star Week, including T-Mobile All-Star FanFest, on July 18, 2014: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd b&c_id=mlb

_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 of the greater Minneapolis area.

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

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_#ASKMPLS_

When visitors attending events in the city have questions about where to go, what to do or just need directions, all they need to do is ask by using the Meet Minneapolis hashtag #ASKMPLS on social media. Staff members are on the ready to respond to questions and assist to ensure a great visitor experience for all who come to Minneapolis.

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_MEDIA CONTACT_

Kristen Montag, media & communication manager, 612.767.8038, kristenm@minneapolis.org , MINNEAPOLIS_PR http://goo.gl/M48J8 Twitter.

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KRISTEN MONTAG | MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER | KRISTENM@MINNEAPOLIS.ORG

OFFICE 612.767.8038 | FAX 612.767.8039 | Minneapolis_PR on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/Minneapolis_PR