Business View Magazine | Volume 8, Issue 9

157 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 8, ISSUE 9 following the guidelines put out through the CDC and the State of New York. At times when capacity limits were very small, Albany Capital Center was able to offer space for small board meetings, moving into training sessions and small company meetings as the directions changed. Sports was a surprising opportunity for the center, which has three basketball courts. With local colleges and other courts unavailable, ACC was prepared to offer a safe space for sports to be played indoors. “We worked with camps, they just held different sessions to keep the numbers down,” says Licygiewicz. “100 kids would come in for a clinic, then we’d have an hour where we would sanitize and clean the building, and then another 100 would come in. We did a lot of different sports that way. We had a Futsal camp, and we also hosted quite a bit of basketball and volleyball. ACC was very heavily utilized in the sports market during the past 15 months.” New York began re-opening in May of 2021, a time which Licygiewicz says felt like “light at the ALBANY CAP I TAL CENTER end of the tunnel.” The phones started ringing and bookings were rolling in for the fourth quarter, until the Delta variant spiked in the area and the uncertainty returned. “I call it the roller coaster ride,” says Licygiewicz. “Your heart goes out to all the meeting planners in the business. What they are trying to do is not easy. We all wish that we had a crystal ball to know what the future was going to hold.” With many clients booking hybrid events into 2022, Albany Capital Center works with individual groups to tailor an event that works for their specific needs. “Everyone’s definition of hybrid is different,” Licygiewicz explains. “Each client has a different goal that they want to achieve with their meeting or social event. We’ve even done a couple of social events virtually. Working with our catering company Mazzone Hospitality, the clients picked up meals here at Albany Capital Center, took them home, and then were able to watch a virtual gala on their TVs while they ate the same dinner that other people were eating. Everyone has really