The Wilmington Convention Center, North Carolina’s “New Center of Attention”, celebrated its official grand opening January 13-15, 2011.  Located in historic downtown Wilmington along the two-mile Riverwalk, the building is the largest convention center on the North Carolina coast, boasting 107,000 square feet of function space and sustainable elements designed toward LEED certification.

To mark the official opening of the newly constructed building, FWV helped coordinate a successful familiarization (FAM) tour for meeting planners and media.  The tour was held January 14-16 and attendees had the opportunity to experience the Wilmington Convention Center along with the historic charm of downtown Wilmington and Carolina, Wrightsville and Kure beaches. 

Fans of the CW’s hit television series One Tree Hill also caught a glimpse of the new building earlier this month.  The Wilmington Convention Center made its television debut during the much-anticipated wedding celebration of One Tree Hill’s Brooke Davis (Sophia Bush) and Julian Baker (Austin Nichols) on the February 1 airing of the show (Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT ). Not only was the event a special One Tree Hill moment for fans, but the filming also marked the building’s first wedding reception.  The 12,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom served as the set for the reception.