EXPERIENCE COLLEGE PARK
College Park, Georgia · The City's Dedicated DMO

Where the world lands.

Step off your flight at the world's busiest airport and into a city with its own sound, its own flavor, and its own story. We are here to make sure the world stops to experience College Park, and that the value it creates stays in College Park.

Discover the City The Case for a Dedicated DMO
100M+
travelers at the doorstep yearly
3rd
largest convention center in Georgia
7,000+
hotel rooms in the district
2 min
from ATL by Skytrain
The DMO Plan

Put College Park's name back at the center of the story

For years, College Park has helped build someone else's brand. The city owns the third largest convention center in Georgia. It sits at the doorstep of the world's busiest airport. It holds a cultural legacy no neighboring city can claim. And yet its identity has been marketed under a regional umbrella that spreads its story across several cities at once, so the value its hotels and venues generate brands the region instead of the city that created it.

Under the prior DMO's strategy, College Park's name was rarely the one out front, and its culture was folded into a generic "airport area" message. Its world-class, city-owned convention center was under-leveraged while major conventions were routed downtown. More than one hundred million travelers passed its doorstep every year, and almost none were ever invited to stop, stay, dine, or explore. The dollars generated here quietly worked for a shared regional identity instead of building College Park's own.

That ends now. Experience College Park exists to stop that value from drifting into a regional brand, and to put College Park's name, culture, and economy back at the center of the story.

A Creative Concept

How College Park could welcome the world

Imagine the millions arriving at the world's busiest airport greeted in the terminal, on MARTA, and in the city's hotels by the leaders of College Park themselves, each inviting visitors to experience a different part of the city.

Bianca Motley Broom
Bianca Motley Broom
Mayor
The Welcome
“Welcome to Atlanta, and welcome to College Park. You’ve just landed at the world’s busiest airport, and the very first city outside its gates is ours. Before you rush downtown, stay a while with us.”
Dr. Jamelle McKenzie
Dr. Jamelle McKenzie
Councilmember, Ward I
Heritage & Hip Hop Innovation
“College Park is hometown to artists who helped shape the sound of the South. Come hear our story: the music, the history, and the culture that started right here.”
Joe Carn
Joe Carn
Mayor Pro-Tem, Ward II
Conventions & Business
“If you’re here on business, you’re already home. Our convention center is the only one in America connected straight to the airport. Meet, connect, and do business in College Park.”
Tracie Arnold
Tracie Arnold
Councilmember, Ward III
Dining & Local Flavor
“Hungry after your flight? College Park’s kitchens are calling: Southern flavor and local flair, just minutes from your gate. Pull up a chair before you go.”
Roderick Gay
Roderick Gay
Councilmember, Ward IV
Golf & Leisure
“A few hours between flights? Play a round on our course, relax, and breathe. College Park is your green space at the gateway to the world.”

This is a creative illustration of a welcome campaign. It is not an endorsement by any official or organization, and any future use would be undertaken with each official's consent. Illustrative concept only; official portraits shown for illustration.

The Strategy

A deliberate, two-phase plan

Phase One captures value from what already exists and grows the tax base. Phase Two reinvests that growth into permanent product and a defining brand. Growth pays for growth.

Phase One

Activate what already exists

The fast win, with no speculative spending. Turn assets the city already owns into revenue, and convert the foot traffic the world already delivers into overnight stays.

  • Greet arriving travelers in the terminal, on MARTA, and in hotels
  • Spotlight chef-owned kitchens, golf, and existing conferences
  • Fill the city-owned Georgia International Convention Center
  • Stage live events funded by sponsors, never restricted tax dollars
The payoff: more heads in beds and a growing hotel-motel tax base.
Phase Two

Build & brand

Plant the flag on the one thing no competitor can copy: College Park's identity. Reinvest Phase One's momentum into culture-led, permanent product.

  • A Hip Hop Innovation Center inside a refurbished city-owned building
  • A Hall of Fame of the South, murals, and a walkable cultural trail
  • Wayfinding that beautifies the historic tourism corridor
  • A signature, sponsor-funded event on the national stage
The goal: a reason to travel to College Park, not merely through it.
For the Mayor, Council & Community

The choice is a model, not a tradeoff

This is not about taking anything from neighboring cities. It is a choice of model: a regional DMO that must average its attention across several cities at once, or a dedicated DMO that markets College Park, and only College Park.

A Diluted Regional Umbrella

Three cities, one diluted brand

  • College Park's culture folded into a generic "airport area" message
  • Major conventions routed to venues downtown
  • 100M+ travelers pass the doorstep with no invitation to stop
  • City-generated tourism dollars build a regional identity
  • Decisions made outside College Park's accountability
Experience College Park, Dedicated

College Park's name, out front

  • A focused brand marketed as College Park, culture and all
  • Right-sized conventions recruited into the city-owned GICC
  • Arriving travelers intercepted and invited to stay, dine, explore
  • Every restricted dollar working for College Park's own assets
  • A local board accountable to the city, residents, and the State

Peer cities prove the model: dedicated, culturally aligned DMOs in places like Prince George's County, Grapevine, and Birmingham consistently outperform diluted multi-city arrangements. Re-designating a DMO is lawful and proven precedent in Georgia.

Discover College Park

A destination in its own right

This is what College Park offers right now. Real assets, already here, ready to welcome visitors, meetings, and major events from the moment they land.

Getting Here

Effortless arrival

Land at the world's busiest airport and reach College Park in minutes. Car-free travel by the ATL Skytrain and MARTA means no rental car, no rideshare line, and no traffic between the gate and your hotel.

2-minute Skytrain
Direct MARTA access
No car needed
The Convention Center

Fill the only airport-connected convention center in the world

The City-owned Georgia International Convention Center is the only convention center in the world joined directly to a major airport by automated train. It is Georgia's third largest, and it is the city's single most valuable tourism asset.

150,000
sq ft of exhibit space
300,000
sq ft total event space
7,000+
rooms across the district

Ideal for:

Associations & NCBMP
Divine Nine
Corporate & Technology
Sports & Esports
Music, Film & Creative
Medical & Healthcare
Plan a Meeting
Stay

Thousands of rooms steps from it all, including a connected headquarters hotel at the convention floor and complimentary airport shuttles at many properties.

7,000+ rooms across the airport district
Dining

A celebrated dining scene serving bold Southern flavor and global cuisine, minutes from the terminal.

The Breakfast Boys · Aye Tea Elle · The Real Milk & Honey · Bole Ethiopian · Lickety Split · Bakes by Drae
Golf

Play a round at the Historic College Park Golf Course, a green escape at the gateway to the world.

Live & Local

Concerts, family shows, and pro basketball at the 5,000-seat Gateway Center Arena, plus sponsor-funded festivals and signature events.

The Culture

A culture worth traveling for

College Park's culture runs deeper than any single attraction. It is a city where food, music, faith, art, and a strong sense of community have shaped a way of life worth traveling for.

Food

Bold Southern flavor and a celebrated, largely Black-owned dining scene, from all-day brunch to elevated tapas and authentic global kitchens.

Arts & Live Performance

Live music, touring shows, and family entertainment at the 5,000-seat Gateway Center Arena, home to pro basketball's Atlanta Dream and College Park Skyhawks, plus the city's historic College Park Theatre and a growing local creative community.

Heritage & Civil Rights

The story of One Square Mile, College Park's original African American community, now being honored block by block with the City, PHOAA, and Georgia State University.

Southern Hospitality

The genuine, unhurried welcome that turns first-time visitors into regulars.

Music

A recognized birthplace of Southern hip hop, home to artists who shaped the modern sound, including 2 Chainz, Ludacris, Gunna, and producer Mr. Collipark, who took the city's own name as his.

Community

Multigenerational families, churches, and neighborhood institutions that give College Park its lasting community ties.

What's to Come

A future College Park Hip Hop Innovation Center and Hall of Fame of the South, the vision to turn this heritage into a destination only this city can offer.

In Development
Meet & Convene

The easiest place in America to bring your people together

Your attendees fly in from anywhere on earth and reach the convention floor in minutes, not after a cross-town crawl. No rental car, no rideshare line, no traffic. Just land, drop your bags, and get to what matters. College Park is where gathering feels effortless, and where your event is the headline, not an afterthought in someone else's downtown.

Associations & Professional Conferences

Host where the nation's professional and meeting community is already coming. Your members land and are in session minutes later, in a city with the culture, cuisine, and identity to match your mission. A natural home for NCBMP and Black professional associations.

Greek Life & the Divine Nine

From the business sessions to the step show to the day of service, your organization deserves a host city that gets it. A connected convention center for the work, a 5,000-seat arena for the big moments, and a dining and nightlife scene ready to celebrate your letters.

Corporate & Technology Meetings

Fly your team and your clients in from anywhere and be in session before lunch. The only convention center connected directly to a major airport means less travel friction, more productive time, and a smarter budget than downtown.

Sports, Tournaments & Esports

Bring the bracket to a real arena. The 5,000-seat Gateway Center Arena hosts pro basketball, so it is built for your AAU tournament, cheer and dance championship, or esports finals, with thousands of rooms steps away for every team and traveling family.

Music, Film & Creative Industry

Hold your summit where the culture lives. In a recognized birthplace of Southern hip hop, minutes from Atlanta's film and music engine, College Park is a natural stage for label conferences, creator events, panels, and showcases with the room inventory to match.

Medical & Healthcare Associations

Bring your conference where attendees from across the country land and reach the sessions in minutes. College Park pairs effortless travel with a connected convention center and headquarters hotel, an easy, professional host for medical associations, continuing-education events, and healthcare gatherings.

Why planners choose College Park

  • The only convention center in the world joined to a major airport by automated train. A two-minute Skytrain from the gate to the floor.
  • Georgia's third largest convention center: roughly 150,000 sq ft of exhibit space and about 300,000 sq ft total.
  • A connected headquarters hotel and 7,000-plus rooms across the district.
  • Real value compared to downtown, with a culture and cuisine scene found nowhere else.

Tell us about your event and we will help you bring it home to College Park.

Start Planning

Let's put College Park's name back at the center of the story.

Whether you are a traveler, a meeting planner, a hotelier, a resident, or a civic partner, we would welcome the chance to connect. Experience College Park supports a fair, competitive, and fully public selection process.

Get in Touch Explore the City