Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas photo: Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau A. Lee Graham Reporter Fort Worth, Grapevine, Irving and Dallas have been ranked on Cvent’s list of the nation’s top 50 cities for meetings and events. Cvent, a cloud-based enterprise event management platform, developed the ranking based on meeting and event booking activity in its supplier network. “Fort Worth boasts a unique blend of celebrated Western heritage with thriving commerce and culture, as well as a reputation as one of the safest and most livable cities in the country,” reads a portion of the Cvent website. Fort Worth ranked 25 on the list. An Irving official expressed satisfaction in her city’s No. 37 designation. “I’m thrilled to see Irving make this coveted list,” said Maura Allen Gast, executive director of the Irving bureau, commenting in a news release. Irving welcomes nearly 3 million visitors annually, delivering $1.4 billion in spending, supporting 12,567 jobs and generating $42.5 million in tax revenues, according to the Irving bureau. Since it opened two and a half years ago, the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas has hosted more than 500 events, attracting more visitors to the city. Cvent evaluated nearly 5,700 U.S. cities featured on its supplier network to compile the list. Activity was tracked between July 2012 and June 2013, and ranking was subsequently determined by total room nights, percentage of qualified meeting venues and other criteria. Other Texas cities ranked on the list are Dallas, 9; San Antonio, 13; Grapevine, 19; Houston, 21; and Austin, 24. The complete list is available at https://www.cvent.com/en/sem/top-50-meeting-destinations-us-2012.shtml lgraham@bizpress.net