On the morning of March 19, the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) held a grand reopening and 20th anniversary celebration of the Huntsville/Madison County Visitor Center.

The Visitor Center has been operating out of temporary office space for the past seven months while upgrades were being carried out at their Church Street location.

Brenda Martin, Chair of the CVB Board of Directors, stood in the light-filled atrium of the Visitor Center on Tuesday and welcomed those gathered.

“Welcome to your remodeled and renovated Visitor Center,” said Martin. “The Visitor Center first opened to the public in March 2004, so this is also the 20th anniversary celebration.”

Martin discussed the growth that Huntsville has witnessed in the intervening years. Madison County currently has more than 8,000 hotel rooms, Martin explained, while 1,000 more hotel rooms are currently in the works.

Huntsville is now the largest city in the state of Alabama. Members of the CVB and local representatives hope that the refreshed Visitor Center will more fully reflect the trajectory of the community.

“The Visitor Center is the springboard to telling our story,” said Mayor Tommy Battle. “This is how we sell our community, and we sell it very well.”

Madison County Commission Chair Mac McCutcheon expressed that the Visitors Center is like the “front door” of the community.

“Come on in, be at home, let us share with you who we are and what we have,” said McCutcheon.

The improvements to the Visitors Center include upgraded and expanded office space, new lighting fixtures, fresh paint, and updated digital offerings.

Two modernized elements in the lobby include a digital wall, as well as an interactive kiosk for visitors who prefer a self-service option.

Jennifer Moore, president and CEO of the CVB, told the Huntsville Business Journal that she was “ecstatic” that the reopening of the Visitors Center coincided perfectly with the milestone anniversary. Moore is ready to welcome visitors to Huntsville into the revitalized space.

“We never know if a visitor is going to be a retiree looking for a permanent location or an investor looking to open a business,” said Moore to the Business Journal. “We just know that we’re the first face they see, and we always want to be hospitable and welcoming.”

The Huntsville/Madison County Visitor Center is located at 500 Church Street. They are open Monday – Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays, from noon to 5 p.m.

The Visitor Center can be found on Instagram at visithuntsvilleal.