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Nashville's Music City Center

SPRING 2014 NEWSLETTER

OFF TO GREAT START

So far 2014 is off to a great start for the Music City Center. Just since the beginning of January, we have hosted almost 70 events with 160,000 in attendance, generating over $75 million in economic impact. We welcomed some great groups to Nashville, such as Archery Trade Association and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and every group with us since the beginning of January has set record attendance. We also received LEED Gold and REAL certification this quarter and are very proud of these accomplishments. Our team here has worked very hard and done an incredible job and we couldn’t be happier with how our first few months of 2014 have gone. This has been an exciting year so far for the Music City Center and we thank you for your continued support throughout 2014.
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                FEATURE STORY
The Music City Center is proud to announce that it has been awarded LEED® Gold certification for New Construction by the U.S. Green Building Council and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute. From the start of the design process, Mayor Karl Dean and the Metropolitan Council of Nashville requested that the MCC attain LEED Silver and we are happy to announce that we have surpassed expectations. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building rating system is a globally recognized symbol of excellence in green buildings. LEED certification identifies Music City Center as a showcase example of sustainable design and demonstrates leadership in transforming the building industry. The LEED certification program promotes sustainability for commercial facilities by recognizing buildings that were designed using strategies aimed at achieving high performance in key areas of human and environmental health. LEED recognizes five key areas of environmental health: sustainable site development, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Features key to the Music City Center’s LEED Gold certification include a green roof, a rainwater harvest system and extensive LED lighting with specialized controls.
The four-acre green roof, currently the largest in the Southeast, is composed of 14 different types of vegetation which slow rainwater runoff and direct it to a 360,000 gallon collection tank. Harvested rainwater is then used to flush over 500 toilets/urinals and irrigate outdoor landscaping. All toilets, urinals and faucets in the Music City Center utilize low-flow technology and are part of the water management plan that reduces the facility’s overall water usage by 40 percent. The roof helps to reduce energy usage by absorbing heat and acting as an insulator to reduce the amount of energy needed to provide heating and cooling to the facility.
As lighting can account for 30 percent of energy used in buildings, the Music City Center uses LED lighting equipped with occupancy sensors, photo sensors and dimmable ballasts to reduce energy use. On average, the building will consume 20 percent less energy than conventionally designed buildings of the same type. The project and design team did an incredible job making LEED certification a top priority and the staff here at the MCC has continued to focus on environmental stewardship in day-to-day operations. We are proud to be a part of the green building movement here and hope to help Nashville reach the goal of becoming the greenest city in the Southeast.
The Music City Center is also proud to announce that it has been awarded REAL Certification by the U.S. Healthful Food Council. REAL stands for Responsible Epicurean and Agricultural Leadership and is a nationwide program that helps combat diet-related disease by recognizing foodservice operators committed to holistic nutrition and environmental stewardship. Through a partnership between the Tennessee Department of Health and the United States Healthful Food Council (USHFC), Eat REAL Tennessee has now certified 12 foodservice establishments in Tennessee along with many others around the nation. The Music City Center is the nation’s first convention center to receive REAL certification. Eat REAL Tennessee is a statewide initiative supported through a grant from the Tennessee Health Department as part of an innovative approach to preventing diabetes and obesity across the state. The program also serves as a community outreach platform, engaging and educating the public on nutrition and healthy dietary choices. Key factors in the Music City Center’s REAL certification include the use of local produce, sustainable sourcing and offering healthful menu options for consumers. The Music City Center purchases 99 percent of our  produce from a variety of 68 local/regional farms. We also donate all leftover food to various local nonprofit organizations and have a composting storage room on-site.
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DEPARTMENT FOCUS:

EVENT & BUILDING SERVICES

The Music City Center’s Event & Building Services team has been very busy during this first year of operation. Since July, the Music City Center has hosted over 250 events with almost 240,000 attendees. 2014 has been especially exciting for the team at the MCC as we welcomed some large groups such as Archery Trade Association, American Bus Association and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Every group that has been here since the beginning of January has set record attendance and the Event Services team has done a great job keeping things running smoothly. The team is led by the Director of Event Services, Bill Facella, who recently joined the MCC. Prior to joining our team, he served as the Director of Convention Services at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando. He and his team serve as the point of contact for all groups in-house and aid our customers in planning every aspect of their event. Last month, USA Today named Nashville the third best convention city in their USA’s 20 Best Convention Cities list and as thousands of visitors flock to Nashville and the Music City Center, Bill and his team will stay dedicated to our customers and guests. Thank you to the Event Services team for their hard work and commitment to the Music City Center!
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MEET THE STAFF:

Congratulations to the following team members of the month!
REGINA HICKS
GUEST EXPERIENCE SERVICES, MANAGER
TEAM MEMBER: DECEMBER
JAMES "TREY" ROBERTS
STEWARD
FOOD & BEVERAGE TEAM MEMBER: DECEMBER
JAMES CARATHERS
SECURITY & PARKING OFFICER
TEAM MEMBER: JANUARY
TIM COHEN
RETAIL
FOOD & BEVERAGE TEAM MEMBER: JANUARY
BETTYE WALTHER
AMBASSADOR
TEAM MEMBER: FEBRUARY
RUBEN ORTEGA
FOOD & BEVERAGE TEAM MEMBER: FEBRUARY

WELCOME TO OUR NEW HIRES THIS QUARTER!

DEL ALLGOOD, Engineering Technician
DANIEL CHAMBERS, Set Up Staff
BILL FACELLA, Director of Event Services
FLOYD MARTIN, Engineering Technician
RACHELLE MARYNOWSKI, Housekeeper
KYLANDO MASON, Building & Grounds Maintenance
ANDREW MCELHENY, Engineering Technician
KENNETH MOTLEY, Set Up Staff
ROBERT MULLINS, Housekeeper
ADAM PANISIAK, Security & Parking Manager
DE'AUNDREA POINTER, Ambassador
AMANDA REUTER, Ambassador
MATTHEW RAYMER, Engineering Technician
KADEEM RILEY, Set Up Staff
JEFFREY SHARPE, Set Up Staff 
BRIAN SLOAN, Set Up Staff
JOE STEELE, DBE Coordinator
JEREMY TROUTT, Set Up Staff
DESTINY VISOR, Exhibitor Services Representative
HOBERT WOODS, Housekeeper

PROMOTIONS

JOSEPH KRANTZ, Engineering Supervisor
ELISA PUTMAN, Senior Vice President & Chief Operations Officer
DAMION ROOKS, Set Up Supervisor
REGGIE ROOKS, Housekeeping Supervisor
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MENUS BY MAX:

WHISKEY BRAISED BEEF SHORT RIB
Chef Max Knoepfel, Executive Chef, Music City Center
Yields 4 Servings
Note:   The beef short ribs are boneless and purchased that way, you should start with four 9 oz. portions as the meat will shrink and cook down. This recipe can be made with chicken or beef stock.

INGREDIENTS:

  4 boneless beef short ribs (9 oz. pieces) or 8 pieces that are 4-5 oz. raw
¼ cup of all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons of vegetable or canola oil
1 large onion (spanish or white)
1 celery rib stock
1 large carrot, peeled
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups of red wine
4 ounces of whiskey or bourbon 
3 cups of beef or chicken stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
2 soup spoons chopped parsley
4 oz. unsalted butter
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
  • Dice all vegetables, chop garlic; set aside
  • Chop thyme, rosemary and parsley
  • Dredge beef in flour, season with salt and pepper to taste and shake off extra flour
  • Heat a skillet and brown the short ribs until all sides are dark golden brown
  • Take a dutch oven or a stove top deep pan and heat over high heat until hot
  • Add 2 spoons of vegetable oil and sauté onions, carrot and celery until brown
  • Reduce heat to medium and add garlic
  • Add red wine, tomato paste, thyme, rosemary and parsley and bring to a boil
  • Return beef short ribs to pan and add 2 oz. of whiskey
  • Cover tightly and place in oven or cover on stove top
  • Cook for about two hours or until beef is tender but not falling apart; cooking juices are kept in the pan with the cover on, and it should be fork tender
  • Remove cooked beef and strain vegetables off the sauce
  • Take the vegetables and blend them with a hand blender or a food mill, then add back to sauce
  • Return pan liquid and reduce until desired consistency
  • Add the remaining whiskey or bourbon and cook down for 5 minutes
  • Season to taste and add 4 oz. of butter into sauce
  • Serve over mashed potatoes (flavored with horseradish), cheese grits or noodles
Enjoy,
           Chef Max
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QUARTERLY FIGURES:

Number of events this quarter: 68
Total attendance: 161,065
Room nights: 68,229
Economic Impact: $78,025,646
LARGEST EVENTS:
Archery Trade Association
American Bus Association
Sherwin-Williams
Nashville Boat & Sportshow
American Association of School Administrators
Tractor Supply Company Annual Meeting
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
American Trucking Association
PREA/BHHS Sales Convention
American Animal Hospital Association
Southern Women’s Show 

HOTEL STATISTICS
(Note: Monthly numbers have been compiled internally from weekly STR reports)
HOTEL STATISTICS BY MONTH:
JANUARY
OCCUPANCY
City (MSA): 55.3%
Downtown: 64.2%
AVERAGE ROOM RATE
City (MSA): $102.74
Downtown: $144.83 
FEBRUARY
OCCUPANCY
City (MSA): 65.8%
Downtown: 77.0%
AVERAGE ROOM RATE
City (MSA): $109.34
Downtown: $160.17
MARCH
OCCUPANCY
City (MSA): 78.9%
Downtown: 87.8%
AVERAGE ROOM RATE
City (MSA): $118.07
Downtown: $179.63

FUTURE CONTRACTS BOOKED THIS QUARTER
NUMBER OF EVENTS: 74
ATTENDEES: 58,597
TOTAL HOTEL NIGHTS: 32,890
ESTIMATED ECONOMIC IMPACT: $42,997,235
Currently the Music City Center has firm bookings through 2026. This includes over 240 events and 2.2 million room nights. Our sales team is also working on an additional 281 tentative events.
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WHAT'S HAPPENING:

COMMUNITY NEWS
A group of students in the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter at Calloway County High School came to tour the Music City Center for their “Day in the Corporate World” annual field trip. Charles Starks, President/CEO, and Heidi Runion, Director of Finance & Administration, spoke to the group about what we do here at the Music City Center. The group then toured the building with Amanda Robinson, Sustainability Coordinator, and Regina Hicks, Guest Experience Manager, and learned about the art and the green features at the MCC before moving on to tour the Omni Hotel.
The MCC proudly partners with Hunter’s Lane High School on a number of various school initiatives. On February 12th Erin Hampton, VP of Human Resources, spent time with students at Hunter’s Lane reviewing resumes and offering interview tips. Erin Hampton, Brian Ivey and Mary Brette Clippard also participated in the Hunter’s Lane High School Academy Showcase on February 18th.
CHEF MAX AT THE NASHVILLE FARMERS' MARKET
Chef Max was guest chef at the Grow Local Kitchen in the Nashville Farmers’ Market on March 8th featuring some delicious dishes such as slow roasted beef short ribs, quinoa with butternut squash and cinnamon vanilla bread pudding. He talked to the guests about the importance of using fresh, local produce in dishes and demonstrated how dishes can be delicious and healthy. He taught the audience about various vegetables and grains, such as kale and quinoa, and other healthy ingredients that are easy to incorporate into a daily diet. He also talked about the importance of buying local and being as sustainable as possible, highlighting how the MCC kitchen recycles, composts and donates leftover food. Guests sampled all the dishes, raving about the beef short ribs and the bread pudding. To find his recipes, visit the Menus by Max section. Thank you to the Nashville Farmers’ Market and Chef Max for such a great event!
Chef Max and his team also participated in the 3rd Annual Tennessee Flavors event at Nashville State Community College. Chef brought samples of a number of different delicious dishes for the guests and the MCC team along with the other participants helped raise over $60,000 to support the Culinary Arts program at Nashville State.
SUSTAINABILITY
At the Music City Center, we are committed to supporting and encouraging sustainable practices and this commitment underlies all our day-to-day operations. We donate all of our leftover food to the Nashville Rescue Mission, Second Harvest of Middle TN or Walden’s Pond. Below is an update on our food donations and recycling since opening in May:
Food Donations - 7,699 lbs. = $8,315.74
Mixed Recycling - 35.91 tons
Pallets - 380
Grease - 2,101 lbs.
Compost – 8.01 tons
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FEATURE STORY
DEPARTMENT FOCUS
MEET THE STAFF
MENUS BY MAX
QUARTERLY FIGURES
WHAT'S HAPPENING

STAY CONNECTED WITH THE MCC!
For updates about what’s going on every week at the Music City Center, like us on:
facebook
twitter
pinterest
instagram
For a complete list of upcoming events click HERE

PARKING & DIRECTIONS
The Music City Center is located at 201 Fifth Avenue South and the three-level parking garage is located directly across from the south entrance to Bridgestone Arena. There are three entrances to the garage: one on 7th and Demonbreun and two on 6th Avenue between Demonbreun and Korean Veterans Boulevard. For more parking information click here to Park with Us.

TOURS
Individuals wishing to tour the Music City Center can visit our website by Clicking Here to register for one of the available tour dates. Tours are complimentary and will last from 45 minutes to an hour. Business or civic organizations wishing to tour the building should do so by contacting our guest experience manager:
REGINA HICKS
615-401-1469 or regina.hicks@nashvillemcc.com
201 Fifth Avenue South Nashville, TN 37203
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