MeadowView Task Force hears from external consultant

KINGSPORT — The MeadowView Task Force met for the sixth time Thursday night at Kingsport City Hall. HVS Global Hospitality Services provided a preliminary report about their analysis, with a final report expected to be ready by June 10. Some of the topics discussed were industry trends, market statistics, fieldwork observations and next steps. Assistant City Manager Michael Borders said the consultant was brought on by the city, noting that HVS has worked with the Marriott brand on many occasions. Representatives with HVS visited the Tri-Cities area for two days in April to learn about what the facility itself has to offer and the surrounding area. The consultant identified Kingsport as having 16 hotel properties with 1,474 guest rooms available. MeadowView was identified by HVS as the only "upper upscale" property in the city. During the April visit, the consultant interviewed several property stakeholders, such as city staff, Visit Kingsport, Eastman, Marriott and Explore Bristol. The Carnegie Hotel in Johnson City was identified by the consultant to be the most competitive local venue to this area, but said it lacked quantity of venue meeting space. HVS associate Henry Detmer said during the presentation to the task force that the James and Nellie Brinkley Center (formerly known as the Millennium Center) was not factored in as part of the space available at The Carnegie, but they would take a look at that in further analysis. Similarly, Detmer said the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol was not identified as a direct competitor for MeadowView since it does not currently offer comparable meeting space. Kingsport City Manager Chris McCartt shared how having an external voice providing input on relevant market trends and how to make the market successful can be critical for moving the facility forward. "I think some of the outside consultants that you all had in those early days of forming, this was extremely valuable to the city, to the team, to the recommendations that were made," McCartt said. "I think as we move into this next phase, having an entity like HVS working alongside us is going to be critical." Task force member Ken Maness said it will be interesting to see how the organization compares MeadowView to its "peers" or venues of similar size or scope in the rest of its analysis. The last two MeadowView Task Force meetings are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on May 7 and May 14, which are usually held at Kingsport City Hall. Background The Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman approved the task force at a December 2025 meeting. At the first task force meeting held in January, Kingsport Mayor Paul Montgomery outlined the five key areas the task force has been asked to review: the historical and current use of the facility, its financial and operational performance, barriers to community access and local use, as well as the mission of the city-owned portion of MeadowView. MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort & Convention Center General Manager Ramona Jackson presented background information about the facility and its performance at the second meeting on Jan. 12. Lara Potter and Frank Lett of Visit Kingsport talked about their organization's role in marketing the facility at the same meeting. On March 12, the task force met and heard more about the convention center's finances. Borders, task force member Ken Maness and guest Lynn Shipley presented to the group. Later that month task force members and community partners discussed how organizations have used MeadowView facilities in the past, as well as current and future uses. During the April 2 meeting, Jackson presented a sales and marketing overview of the property to task force members. Others in the task force also continued to share comments about how their organizations have used the space in the past and plan to in the future. The city owns the 81,000-square-foot convention center and the Cattails Golf Course, while Eastman owns the 300-room hotel and Meadows Restaurant. Under a 2012 Qualified Management Agreement, Marriott International manages the entire property. The agreement is set to expire next year. Under the agreement, Marriott oversees day-to-day operations of the conference center, including staffing, marketing events, setting prices, maintaining the property and handling finances. The task force includes Larry Estepp, Brett Sago, Julie Bennett, Jessica Poore, Lafe Cook, Ken Maness, CeeGee McCord, Jaime Joaquin, Linda Calvert, Calvin Clifton and Wes Combs. Also sitting in on the meetings are City Manager Chris McCartt, Assistant City Manager Michael Borders, Deidre Lloyd of Eastman, Lara Potter and Frank Lett of Visit Kingsport.