Lone Star Surprise

Venture beyond big cities to find a whole other Texas.

By Larry Bleiberg

Texans like things big. Big bankrolls, big buildings and big hair. And with three of the nation’s 10 biggest cities, it’s easy for a meeting planner to be overwhelmed. Houston, Dallas and San Antonio are enticing, but the state’s many other locales host unforgettable gatherings too. Some, like Amarillo, stand out by offering Western heritage and hospitality in the midst of the High Plains. Others, like Frisco and neighboring Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs, amaze visitors with a concentration of attractions in hidden corners of a sprawling metropolitan area. And some, like Beaumont, offer a slice of little-known Texas, just 90 minutes from Houston. Taken together, these cities let planners provide their members an unexpected Texas experience with minimal hassles — and a lower expense.

Meeting in a second-tier city doesn’t mean anything’s second class, says David DuBois, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The term’s related to size, not quality of offerings,” he says. “I’ll put our downtown against any city of any size as far as safety, walkability and energy.”

Fort Worth meetings often play up the city’s unique blend of cowboys and culture. Not only does it run twice-daily cattle drives in the Stockyards District, but it’s also home to some of the best museums in the country, including the Kimbell, which includes works by El Greco, Rubens, Rembrandt, Houdon, Goya, Monet, Cézanne, Picasso, Matisse and Mondrian. By contrast, at the nearby Cowgirl Hall of Fame, you can ride a mechanical bronco and see it superimposed on a black-and-white Western.

The Fort Worth Convention Center is bolstered by the adjacent 614-room Omni Fort Worth Hotel, which opened in January 2009, and the 156-suite Embassy Suites Hotel and 434-room Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel and Spa, both of which opened in 2008.

But the city, with a population of nearly 700,000, is still a big player. Several smaller locales find their niche by appealing to groups without the budget or interest in a busy-city gathering. Lewisville, a community of 100,000, about 30 miles north of downtown Dallas, tells groups it offers the best of both worlds.

“We’re close to everything, but we’re not in the middle of everything,” says James Kunke, director of the Lewisville Convention and Visitors Bureau. Hotel and restaurant rates are lower than the tab visitors will find just down the highway. At the end of the year, the city will open a rail station that will connect to Dallas’ expanding light rail line. Kunke says visitors will love being able to sample the city’s offerings without the grind of traffic and the hassles and expense of parking.

But Lewisville, which opened a 17,000-sq.-ft. convention center in 2008, has plenty to offer on its own. It’s home to 30,000-acre Lewisville Lake, which has memorable venues for meals and meetings. The “Chamonix II” is the largest inland sailing catamaran in the state, holding up to 100 guests. “It has got a nice appeal, being out on the lake watching the sun go down with a glass of wine in your hand, and a buffet behind you,” Kunke says. Sneaky Pete’s is a lakefront restaurant with five banquet rooms, serving groups of up to 500.

A well-known Texas tradition is sports. While there are big-league, big-dollar games in the major cities, Frisco, located about 25 miles north of downtown Dallas, offers similar excitement, without the pricetag, in a low-hassle suburban setting.

Dr Pepper Ballpark is home to a minor league affiliate of the Texas Rangers, while Dr Pepper Arena is the practice facility for the NHL Dallas Stars and home to a junior hockey team. Nearby, Pizza Hut Park hosts professional soccer. All have meeting and event facilities. Frisco’s accommodations are first-class as well, including two four-diamond hotels, the Embassy Suites and the Westin Stone Briar Resort with a Tom Fazio-designed golf course and in-room spa services.

In recent years, nearby Plano has come into its own too. As the home to Fortune 500 companies, the North Texas city is a business destination in its own right, and its convention center can host meetings for up to 5,000 people. Its historic downtown, re-energized by Dallas’ light rail line, boasts restaurants, theaters and galleries. But for an only-in-Texas experience, one has to venture to Southfork Ranch Event and Conference Center, where the Ewing clan schemed and dealed during the “Dallas” television show. A generation later, fans still come to pay homage to J.R. Planners often book the site and the adjacent Southfork hotel for gatherings.

But that’s just North Texas. For a taste of the mythic Lone Star state, one must head west. In Amarillo, visitors find cowboys, ranches and wide-open horizons. “We don’t have to put it on. That’s who we are,” said Eric Miller, spokesman for the city’s convention and visitor council. “There are ranches around in every direction. That’s still what we do for a living.”

Groups love the city’s Western-theme events like Cowboy breakfasts served outdoors from a chuckwagon, or a visit to Palo Duro Canyon, home to the “Texas” outdoor drama every summer. Yet visitors are also surprised by the facilities, including a 340,000-sq.-ft. civic center.

Sheldon Nicolle with the North American Falconry Association said Amarillo offered the perfect combination for the group’s national field meet in 2008. “It’s a small city with big-city attributes. It has all things that’s folks want — museums, restaurants. There’s a wide variety for family members.” The falconry group’s needs are specialized, and Amarillo rose to the occasion, he said. Most attendees bring birds to hunt with during the day, gathering in the evening for events and a banquet. He needed a hotel where the group could set up an outdoor weathering yard — an open area where birds could be staked out on perches. The Holiday Inn Amarillo on Interstate 40 obliged. “It was the Texas can-do spirit. They’re so hospitable there.”

Another West Texas city makes its mark with music heritage, entertainment and wine. Lubbock’s most harmonious attraction, the Buddy Holly Center, is a big hit with anyone who can hum the tune to “Peggy Sue.” The museum, which can be rented for meetings and events, is located in the lively Depot District, which is anchored by a renovated rail station. Home to Texas Tech University, Lubbock is a vibrant college town with many restaurants and clubs. Surprisingly, wine lovers toast Lubbock too. The area’s home to several award-winning wineries: Both Caprock Winery and McPherson Cellars have meeting space and can incorporate tastings into group events.

A different side of the Lone Star state is available in Beaumont, a city that’s located closer to Florida than Amarillo. “We’re 100 percent Texas, but we have a little bit of that Cajun influence, a bit of the Old South,” says Dean Conwell, executive director of the Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We don’t take ourselves that seriously but when we have guests come to town, we go all out.” The southeast Texas city is near the Louisiana border and plays up its bayou flavor.

That’s what appeals to Kathy Bachelot, who brought the Anchor & Pilot club conventions to Beaumont in 2007 and is returning again in 2010. Beaumont’s a perfect locale for the youth and adult service groups, she says. “We were concerned about coming back to Beaumont after just three years, but we had an overwhelming response when we announced it.”

The adults love being able to scoot over to Louisiana to visit casinos, and the younger attendees enjoy sites like the Spindletop Museum, which chronicles the history of one of Texas’s most important oil booms. And Bachelot says she appreciates working with the convention bureau and hotels in a smaller city. “We really get special treatment because we are the convention that weekend. We’re a big fish in Beaumont,” she says. “They really do work hard for us.”

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