The Anaheim/Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau (AOCVCB) and the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) commemorated the grand opening of the Anaheim Convention Center’s Grand Plaza on Jan. 23 with a colorful ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The event served as the opening ceremony of the 2013 NAMM Show, and hundreds of attendees joined to celebrate the latest expansion of the Anaheim Convention Center meeting campus.
“We are pleased to welcome NAMM back to Anaheim, and are delighted they are the first show to utilize the beautiful Grand Plaza,” said Tom Tait, Mayor of Anaheim . “The NAMM Show and Anaheim are synonymous, and expanding the show outdoors gives their guests added meeting and communal space, and a greater experience in our city. We look forward to welcoming NAMM back to Anaheim for many years to come.”
The NAMM Show is the largest and longest-running musical instrument and product tradeshow in the U.S. This is NAMM’s 35th year in Anaheim, and it brought more than 93,000 registrants to the Anaheim Convention Center over the course of the four-day show.
“When we sat down to begin design of the 100,000-square-foot Grand Plaza, we knew that we wanted a beautiful, resort-themed exterior space, but also one that was very flexible in terms of potential uses,” said Tom Morton, executive director of Anaheim Convention Center, Sports and Entertainment. “We also knew that the NAMM show would utilize it to its fullest potential and they are doing just that.”
The Grand Plaza is a uniquely Southern California outdoor environment that can be utilized year-round for a wide variety of events, meetings and gatherings. The Grand Plaza enhances the open, campus-like space surrounding the Anaheim Convention Center and flows between the Hilton Anaheim and Anaheim Marriott hotels. The area also features a special Transit Plaza for efficient transportation flow.
“The long-awaited Grand Plaza is a welcome addition to our meeting campus,” said Charles Ahlers, president of the AOCVCB. “This new outdoor environment offers our guests, and meeting and event planners a place to call their own while they are in Anaheim. This space is filled with possibilities and gives Anaheim a distinct edge in the competitive meetings market.”
