Hi, sports fans. The Virginia Beach Sports Marketing Team is hard at work this week as the host of the largest youth wrestling championship in the U.S. What do you get when you mix the 150,000 sq. ft. column-free Virginia Beach Convention Center X-Hall, 28 wrestling mats, 3,800 wrestlers, 250 college coaches, 400 high school coaches and more than 6,000 fans? The answer to that question is easy...one action-packed week at the National High School Coaches Association's 20th Annual Wrestling Championship, March 31-April 5.

Whether you have 25,000 runners, 250 surfers, 1,800 field hockey players, 600 judo athletes, 1,200 gymnasts, 8,000 soccer players, 2,500 cheerleaders or anything in between, Virginia Beach can host your event. Our first-class sports venues, quality hotel rooms, sports-friendly hospitality community and professional CVB Sports Marketing staff will ensure that your event is a success. Check out our venues, event calendar and meet some of our partners at www.vbsports.com.

Give us a shout if we can help you plan, promote and host your next championship event or sports-related meeting/convention. Buddy Wheeler, bwheeler@vbgov.com, Nancy Helman, nhelman@vbgov.com, Matt Robinette, mrobinet@vbgov.com.

If you're in the area, stop in and see us this week at the Convention Center if you want to catch any of the wrestling action. See you there.

Thanks for stopping by. Our convention sales team is on a roll with new groups booking future events like the U.S. Field Hockey National Indoor Tournament, a 2-year contract; USA Track & Field (USATF) Annual Convention in December 2010; the National Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) in 2010 and 2013; the International Reading Association in 2011; and the Rejuvenate Marketplace in 2013. And there’s more to come on that.

We’re also very excited to announce that the search for a headquarters hotel adjacent to the Virginia Beach Convention Center is moving forward and proposals have been narrowed down to two major contenders. Plans are also underway for a new entertainment center on 19th Street where visitors can enjoy dining, retail, and theater establishments with attractions for all age groups.

On behalf of the Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau, I want to welcome you to the Bring It to the Beach blog. This is our chance to give you breaking news when you want it –NOW!  Did you know that the Virginia Beach Convention Center was the first green convention center in the commonwealth? Did you know that plans are in motion to secure a headquarters hotel and a new entertainment center at the Oceanfront? Did you know that Virginia Beach produced its first-ever sports event, the Cyclo Cross Winter Endurance, in January? This is the type of information my staff and I will post here as news develops, as well as interesting industry articles that I have found to help meeting planners in this ever-changing economy.