May 2025 – PLANNING VISIT
Visit Baltimore’ s Customer Experience team coordinated an onsite kickoff meeting for 30 members of the convention planning committee followed by regular virtual meetings leading up to the event.
April 2025 – February 2026 – THE LINK TO LOCALS For many elements, we served as the liaison between NSBE and potential sponsors and vendor teams to solicit support of local businesses. Those partners range from transportation resources to Baltimore-based creatives and more. Additionally, the Visit Baltimore team sourced, vetted and connected the group to more than 30 hotel partners to secure the 3,400 hotel rooms needed to accommodate attendees.
August 2025 – March 2026 – COMMUNITY PREPARATION The team produced and rolled out banners, digital billboards, airport messages, hotel clings and more to welcome NSBE to Baltimore! The team also supported outreach at local schools to boost awareness and connected the planning committee with the CIAA for potential activations during the tournament.
Visit Baltimore also coordinated with transportation officials, the Baltimore Police Department, local security agencies, the Mayor’ s Office, downtown businesses, hotel management and the larger hospitality community to prepare for the influx of crowds.
March 2026 – WELCOME, NSBE!
NSBE held its first Black On Purpose event in Baltimore, a STEM-focused experience open to the public with food and live entertainment. Our team worked to make this idea a reality and provide further benefit to our community.
12,000 + attendees
13,000 + room nights across 34 hotels
$ 6.5M + direct economic impact
“ Visit Baltimore was an exceptional partner throughout the planning and execution of the NSBE Annual Convention. Their team was responsive, knowledgeable and genuinely invested in our success from start to finish. Their collaboration, local expertise and commitment to outstanding service helped create a seamless experience for our attendees, exhibitors and stakeholders.”
NECOYA TYSON, Meeting Planner for NSBE, Lightsey Event Solutions
WORKING TOGETHER WITH PARTNERS helps strengthen our pitch. Sometimes that means bringing local chefs and influencers to the tradeshow floor or including a Baltimore-based tour guide in a site visit itinerary.
For NSBE, we collaborated with community leaders from the Mayor’ s Office and Downtown Partnership of Baltimore to speak on behalf of our city, support planning efforts and personally welcome the group to town. This allowed us to tap into the authentic passion and knowledge of those personally connected with NSBE, like the organization’ s former chair, Deputy Mayor Calvin Young.
28 VISIT BALTIMORE