New downtown Huntsville hotel opens as VBC books more events

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - It’s a big day in Huntsville with a sign, we’re getting back to normal.

With COVID cases going down and the number of shows scheduled at the Von Braun Center going up, city leaders gathered downtown for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Hampton Inn hotel with 150 rooms.

The hotel is on Clinton Avenue, right across the street from the VBC. The owner isn’t the only person optimistic there will be a lot of success and rooms booked.

The marketing director for the VBC says there are almost 100 events scheduled, including big conventions that bring people from around the country to downtown.

When people visit, they need a place to stay, and they now have more options. Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting is the second hotel to recently open up in downtown Huntsville. A hotel at 106 Jefferson Street, also really close to the VBC recently opened its doors.

There is a need for more hotels as the biggest city in the state continues to grow and attract more people and stars to take the stage at entertainment venues like the VBC.

There are a lot of big names on the VBC marquee with concerts scheduled for this year, and the owner of the Hampton Inn is excited for the possibilities.

”Tremendous amount of residential growth that your seeing around this area. Huntsville 15 years ago probably had a few restaurants. Look at how many there are today. So this is a great location, right across the street from the convention center,” said hotel owner Mitch Patel.

“The entertainment industry is back. The live events are back, the climate in Huntsville is amazing. We’re seeing more hotels coming online and its all because of these events coming back. In downtown Huntsville we have Propst Arena, we have Mark C Smith Concert Hall, Mars Music Hall, we have fantastic restaurants, so people need places to stay. We need rooms in downtown Huntsville,” said VBC Director of Marketing Samantha Nielsen.”

The new Hampton Inn is the owner’s first hotel in the Tennessee Valley. He says he’s currently discussing plans to buy land to build another hotel near the VBC.

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