Plan Your Meetings

Want a hoot-hollerin’ good time?

NashTrash tours with the Jugg Sisters are country musical-comedy extravaganzas that last 90 minutes. Up to 32 attendees can climb aboard the Big Pink Bus for a unique view of the city and its attractions. Locals love kicking up their heels at the Wildhorse Saloon, which has the city’s largest dance floor (3,300 square feet). The saloon also has a variety of rooms for corporate meetings, or groups of up to 5,000 can book the entire venue. Wildhorse also offers catering, in-house audio and video production, and line dance lessons as well as songwriters, celebrities look-a-likes and live entertainment.

Want a music-themed venue?

For meetings that rock, the Hard Rock Café Nashville has a living museum of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia, and six function spaces for music-centric or themed meetings and events, including the 120-person main dining room, the 18-person stage and the 24-person Jack Daniels Room. The entire venue can be rented out to accommodate up to 300 guests seated. Of course, nothing says Nashville more than Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry. Conveniently located near the main convention center, the central business district and the entertainment district, the Ryman can accommodate more than 2,000 persons. Planners can seat up to 120 people onstage for dinner or hold a special presentation in the 2,362-seat auditorium. Other event spaces are an upper lobby area (capacity: 100-125) and a vestibule overlooking Fifth Avenue (capacity: 75). BlackBird Studio, owned by John and Martina McBride, is one of the country’s most popular studios. On any given day, you can find stars like Brad Paisley, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rascall Flatts, the White Strips or Keith Urban working here. Groups can hold private functions on The Birdhouse, an outdoor patio space. With heavy curtains to shut out inclement weather, the Birdhouse can handle up to 100 people and has a caterer’s kitchen. The Country Music Hall of Fame has several dramatic event venues, including the Hall of Fame Rotunda (capacity: 300 reception/160 banquet), the 11,000-sq. ft. Curb Conservatory (capacity: 1,000 reception/400 banquet), a 40-seat boardroom, a 213-seat  theater, a terrace (capacity: 200 reception/70 banquet) and a 2,800-sq. ft. courtyard that can be tented (capacity: 200 reception/100 banquet).

Want a room with a view?

Hilton Garden Inn Nashville Vanderbilt, in the city’s West End neighborhood, has 194 rooms and 5,000 square feet of function space, including a top-floor ballroom and skyline terrace that overlooks Music Row. Aerial is a glass-enclosed rooftop space that can handle groups of 10 to 300. Located on top of an office building on Lower Broadway, its flexible event space offers views of local landmarks such as the Ryman Auditorium and Riverfront Park. Another rooftop space is One Eleven, which has a 2,200-sq. ft. observation deck overlooking Broadway, a 1,300-sq. ft. glass-enclosed penthouse and a 1,300-sq. ft. covered patio overlooking Second Avenue. The space is managed by Event Logistics Inc., a local corporate meeting and event planner, which can handle entertainment, catering and audio/visual needs. The General Jackson Showboat (capacity: 1,100) and sister vessel, the Music City Queen (capacity: 300), offer live music, banquets and entertainment as well as tours of points of interest along the Cumberland River.

Want to meet in a place with history?

Cheekwood was built in 1932 to house the Cheek family, who developed the Maxwell House brand of coffee. The limestone mansion and its formal gardens were inspired by 18th century English estate homes and now offers several indoor and outdoor venues for groups of up to 400 people. The largest are the Massey Display Hall (capacity: 300-400), which opens out onto grass terraces, and the Learning Center (capacity: 225-250), which encompasses a converted stable building that now houses an art gallery, a terrace, a courtyard and an event lawn, which can be tented. Originally opened in 1934 as Nashville’s main post office, the Art Deco Frist Center for the Visual Arts is within walking distance of convention hotels and features a state-of-the-art staging and A/V system and private banquet and meeting spaces for groups in its 250-seat auditorium, courtyards, terrace and grand lobby. Full buy-outs of the venue accommodate just over 1,000 people banquet-style or 2,500 for standing receptions.

Want a venue for 2013 or beyond?

The Music City Center, Nashville’s new convention center, is currently under construction and accepting bookings for dates beginning in 2013. Amenities will include 1.2 million total square feet of space, including 370,000 square feet of exhibit space, a concert hall, more than 50 meeting rooms, two ballrooms and 36 loading docks. Also in development is a 1,000-room convention hotel offering an additional 100,000 square feet of meeting space.

Want to give them the presidential treatment?

The Hermitage Mansion and Museum is the former home of President Andrew Jackson. For groups of up to 125-250, consider the Tulip Grove Mansion or the Cabin By the Spring, a historic log cabin. Other venues include the 125-seat 1824 Heritage Church, the formal Heritage Gardens (capacity: 100) and a glass-enclosed lobby (capacity: 200-300). In the Andrew Jackson Visitor Center, there is a 140-seat auditorium suitable for corporate presentations and multimedia training sessions.

Want attendees to be the belle of the ball?

Give your group the Scarlet O’Hara treatment by holding a meeting at one of Nashville’s antebellum mansions or planning a progressive dinner through several. Recommended venues include the Hermitage, Travellers Rest and Plantation (capacity: 300), and the Belle Mead Plantation (capacity: 500).

Want spousal activities?

A 25-minute drive from Nashville is Arrington Vineyards, a vineyard and winery founded by Kix Brooks of fabled country group Brooks and Dunn, which has two intimate tasting rooms as well as an outdoor picnic area. The winery has a limited food menu of crackers and Schakolad Chocolate Factory truffles, but on-site catering is available from Henpeck Market and Red Pony Catering. Ask about Arrington’s “Music in the Vines” program, a popular weekend concert series.

Want team-building, Nashville style?

Grammy-nominated songwriter Billy Kirsch can teach groups how to develop soft skills through songwriting workshops, which end with a song competition and performance. Attendees get a souvenir CD branded with the company name and logo. Ultimate Event Nashville also takes a musical approach to team building, pairing groups of up to 200 with local songwriters so they can write, record and perform original songs. For more traditional team-building programs, take a look at Adventureworks, which focuses on team development, meeting facilitation and conflict resolution. Adventureworks programs range from two-hour to multi-day retreats and include ropes courses, scavenger hunts and group challenges.

Want items for gifts and takeaways?

Consider ordering chocolate-shaped music notes, instruments or records from Chocolate Graphics or pasta-shaped notes, boots and guitars from The Pasta Shoppe. At the Ryman Auditorium, Grand Ole Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame gift shops, planners can find anything from magnets and fly swatters to Christmas ornaments. The Spirit of Nashville offers city-themed gifts, T-shirts and other novelties. A local favorite is The Christie Cookie Company’s red and white-striped box of nine cookies (better known as Doubletree Hotel’s signature cookie).

Want to get the group outdoors?

Nashville offers plenty of options for active groups. Cruise Center Hill accommodates up to 50 persons in its 73-ft. “floating condo.” After meetings, attendees can fish, soak up the sun, take in the beautiful surroundings or go swimming in Center Hill Lake, considered by many to be “Nashville’s most beautiful lake.” For those who just want to fish, Nashville Fishing Charters can take groups of four to Percy Priest Lake. If you’re interested in planning corporate golf outings or tournaments, public courses with special corporate rates include Hermitage Golf Course, Gaylord Springs Golflinks and Vanderbilt Legends Club of Tennessee.