Charles Pointe, the 1,700-acre, master-planned, mixed-used community along West Virginia’s High Technology Corridor, will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the opening of its Bridgeport Conference Center at a private reception to be held at the conference center on Wednesday at 5 p.m. 

 

State Senator Michael Romano, Bridgeport Mayor Robert Greer, City Manager Kim Haws and other dignitaries will be on hand to talk about the center’s economic impact on the region’s economy. The event is being hosted by the Harrison County Chamber of Commerce.

 

Opened in April 2006, the Bridgeport Conference Center has hosted nearly 3,000 groups comprising more than a quarter million meeting and convention participants. Several state and local officials have praised the conference center and its impact on the region.

 

State Senator Mike Romano: “Our Bridgeport Conference Center is a first class facility that demonstrates the benefits of public-private partnerships. It has become one of the premier venues for gatherings of all types and is the home-away-from-home for many Big 12 Conference teams visiting West Virginia University. The conference center represents a model for all of West Virginia on how to develop tourism that brings in out-of-state revenue for the benefit of all our citizens.”

 

Bridgeport Mayor Robert Greer: "The Bridgeport Conference Center has been a great addition to the City of Bridgeport. It has helped to make the city and all of Harrison County a destination for events, regional meetings and Big 12 Conference connections to West Virginia University."

 

Drew Pomeroy, president of the Great Bridgeport Convention and Visitors Bureau: “The conference center has certainly been a crown jewel for tourism in North Central West Virginia. Over the past 10 years, it has been a flagship property for meeting and destination business. The conference center has become one of the state’s most convenient and recognized meeting facilities.”

 

Ron Watson, president of the Harrison County Commission: “Charles Pointe itself has made a great contribution to this region, and the conference center is the focal point of the community. Between the hundreds of meetings and conventions held there each year, the two hotels and all the restaurants and retailers, there’s always something going on at Charles Pointe.”

 

According to Jamie Corton, managing partner of Genesis Partners, the developer of Charles Pointe, the center has enabled the city of Bridgeport to compete for meeting and convention business.

 

“The Bridgeport Conference Center is the primary driver behind Bridgeport’s ability to attract groups including Marriott International, the FBI and Erie Insurance,” said Corton. “The city is now successfully competing with Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Ohio for meetings and conventions because we have features and amenities that no other destination in the region can offer including 15,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space and enterprise-class wired and wireless, high-speed Internet access. And the North Central West Virginia Regional Airport is a mile from the community."

 

Scott Duarte, managing director of the Bridgeport Conference Center and Charles Pointe Hospitality, echoed Corton.

 

“Two Wyndham hotels with a total of 202 rooms and 14 restaurants are within a short walk of less than five minutes from the conference center,” said Duarte. “The Meadowbrook Mall with nearly 100 restaurants, shops and a 10-screen stadium cinema is just minutes away. And Charles Pointe is also home of the Bridgeport Recreation Complex, the state’s finest facility for baseball and softball tournaments. So, there’s plenty for visitors to do while they’re here.”