Plan Your Meetings

Watch for:

• The Holiday Inn Airport Inn & Conference Center completed renovations in 2007, upgrading guest rooms and public spaces.
• The Harbor Ferry (capacity: 49) began service in late April 2008, transporting passengers between Corpus Christi attractions.
• The South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center’s new, interactive, walk-through Butterfly Conservatory is now open.
• Newport Beach and Golf, a 1,800-acre resort community on Mustang Island, opened in 2008. Amenities will include two golf courses, including an 18-hole Arnold Palmer signature course, a marina, hotels, and tennis and beach clubs.
• A $130 million resort and nature preserve project is broke ground in summer 2008 along Nueces Bay. Projected amenities include a luxury hotel, a five-star boutique hotel, a medical and wellness center, a water park, a boardwalk attraction similar to Kemah and wildlife preserve.
• The Outlets at Corpus Christi Bay are scheduled to open in mid-summer 2009.

Want unusual accommodations?

The retired aircraft carrier USS Lexington has more sleeping space than the largest hotel in the world. Groups of at least 15 people can stay overnight for naval-themed conferences. The ship also can be used as a floating classroom or special events venue. Amenities include 40,000 square feet of meeting space, a three-story theater, flight simulators, a museum, a food court, a flight deck, patriotic ceremonies and team-building programs.

Want to shake up a meal function?

The Art Museum of South Texas, next door to the American Bank Center Convention Center, has the only museum café in the state of Texas and a glass-walled banquet room overlooking the Corpus Christi Bay, available for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Groups of up to 45 people can book private lunch or dinner screenings of films at the Indie Theater. Captain Clark’s Flagship offers lunch and dinner cruises for up to 400 people. The Courtyard at Gaslight Square has three special event venues: a courtyard with an illuminated fountain (capacity: 240) and two indoor spaces for 120-140 guests. Attendees can learn how to sail and then embark on a sunset dinner cruise at the Corpus Christi Yachting Center.

Want to create memorable events?

The Owner’s Experience package at Whataburger Field shows attendees what goes on behind the scenes of an AA baseball club. Attendees talk with Corpus Christi Hooks staff members, dine on-site in the Cotton Club, tour the clubhouse and press box, watch batting practice and the game from VIP seating, and receive autographed baseballs. The Texas State Aquarium has one-hour and one-day dolphin programs where attendees learn about dolphin behavior, and see what it takes to train and work with the aquatic creatures. The entire aquarium may be booked for private events; special event spaces include an outdoor amphitheater, an underwater dolphin-viewing room, and banquet/ballroom space in the lobby and galleries. Want a beach-theme? Plan a meal on the beach; hold morning sessions in a bayview room; give attendees afternoon surfing, sailing or fishing lessons; hold a reception at the Texas Surf Museum; and end the day with live music and dancing at the Executive Surf Club.

Want unusual venues?

The South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center has outdoor event space in its rose and hibiscus gardens, and indoor meeting and banquet space. In Port Aransas, the Texas Treasure Casino has gambling cruises that can be reserved for private groups; amenities include an international buffet, live entertainment, complimentary drinks for gamblers and shuttle transportation from downtown Corpus Christi. The Old Concrete Street Amphitheater has a covered pavilion for up to 2,000 guests in the middle of the downtown entertainment district, and can accommodate a stage and a dancefloor. The Performing Arts Center (capacity: 1,400) has a dramatic atrium lobby space, a backstage greenroom and a state-of-the-art theater.

Want group dining?

Cassidy’s Irish Pub is one of the only places to hear Celtic music along the Texas Gulf Coast. Katz 21 Steak & Spirits is an elegant steak house with room for up to 150 diners for private functions in its main dining room or lounge; live music and space for dancing also is available. The Havana Club combines Cuban culture and Las Vegas cool with food served tapas-style; other amenities include a walk-in humidor with private cigar lockers, a wine room, state-of-the-art sound and lighting, a dancefloor, and DJ and live music. Dine and dance under the stars, hold a tequila tasting or a poker tournament at Brewster Street Icehouse, which boasts the largest party deck in South Texas.