Midwestern Values

There’s no mystery, really, why the Midwest works so well for meetings. One needs only to think of its people: friendly, practical, industrious, down-to-earth. They understand the value of hard work (and a hard-earned dollar) and appreciate the need to relax afterward. Family is important, which is why attendees are welcomed like favorite siblings. And when the occasion calls for something special, Midwesterners intuitively know where to go and how to make the event memorable.

Ohio, Indiana & Illinois

The three-state sweep of rolling hills, sharp cities, green farmland and a wealth of Great Lakes access in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois remains reliable and affordable, yet the area continues to improve its meetings appeal.

In Cleveland, for example, plans call for a new $450 million convention center and medical mart near Tower City, complementing the Cleveland Convention Center (20 meeting rooms and 278,000 square feet of exhibit space) and the International Exposition Center (21 meeting rooms and an 800,000-sq.-ft. main exhibit hall). The Sharonville Convention Center, 15 miles north of Cincinnati, will more than double its meeting space to about 115,000 square feet by next year. The Greater Columbus Convention Center, meanwhile, has unveiled its new $40 million Battelle Hall as work continues on the upcoming 500-room convention center hotel, expected to open in 2012.

Marriott has found a home in Indianapolis. The company is spending $425 million building four new properties — JW Marriott Indianapolis, Indianapolis Courtyard by Marriott Downtown, Indianapolis Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Downtown, and Indianapolis SpringHill Suites by Marriott Downtown — that will add more than 1,600 guestrooms to the city when completed by next year. Planners can check out the new 130-room Comfort Suites near Lucas Oil Stadium, as well as two new downtown group eateries, Scotty’s Brewhouse and the Argentinean Taste of Tango.

The Indiana Convention Center expansion, meanwhile, will increase its exhibit space from 403,000 to 566,000 square feet (745,000 in combination with the new Lucas Oil Stadium) by year’s end. For a different take on the Hoosier experience, check out Bloomington, home of Indiana University and its host of unique and versatile educational venues.

In one of the Midwest’s largest cities, room stock is going up. Chicago’s new 216-room Dana Hotel and Spa, 225-room Hotel Felix and 298-room theWit are adding to the hotel landscape. If you’re headed downtown, don’t miss the Art Institute of Chicago’s new $300 million Modern Wing. But suburban Chicago is ramping up its meetings efforts, especially in the green sector. Lisle, about 30 miles west of Chicago, has four full-service hotels that specialize in green meetings and events. Another Chicago suburb encourages green meetings by making it easy to get outside. For sports events and meetings, few spots rival the group recreation and team-building options found in Galena/Jo Daviess County. This slice of northwest Illinois rules in outdoor activities, from golf and cycling to kayaking and horseback riding.

Minnesota, Wisconsin & Michigan

It’s not by accident that the state university mascots for Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan honor smart, intuitive and hard-working animals: gophers, badgers and wolverines, respectively. Those attributes could easily be applied to the folks who’ve settled into these Canadian-border states. They are people who work hard, know value and grasp the concept of customer service.

“While we tend to be more affordable that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice experience,” says Brent Foerster, vice president of sales and marketing for VISIT Milwaukee. Foerster, a native Minnesotan, says that when planners look at the bigger meeting picture they can appreciate all that his part of the Midwest delivers, especially its affordability. “When you look at all Milwaukee has to offer — great hotels and attractions, a vibrant restaurant community, museums and parks and a great waterfront — it all adds up at a very reasonable price point,” he says. “We’ve had attendees leave here saying, ‘Wow, I never knew.’”

Indeed, Wisconsin’s largest city, set on the west shore of Lake Michigan, is undergoing a renewal of its urban industrial roots with a new planetarium, open-air market, $240 million expansion of the Potawatomi Bingo Casino and The Harley-Davidson Museum. There’s a new Harley-friendly place for fans to stay nearby: the 100-room Iron Horse Hotel, set in a century-old warehouse. For Debbie Cowen, CMP, president of Summit Meetings in Denver, the city struck a chord with her and her attendees. “Milwaukee is a value-added city in a great location and really met our client’s needs,” she says. “We had a long conference and we needed somewhere to go besides the meeting rooms, and they have a lot of attractions for the attendees and their families.”

Wisconsin Dells raises the work-and-play bar as well, providing world-class meeting facilities (Chula Vista Resort, Wisconsin Dells Center and 200,000-sq.-ft. Exposition and Sports Center) in a country setting hailed for its water parks. Madison, the state capital and a prestigious arts and culture community, offers terrific options for government and educational networking.

Minnesota presents a multitude of options worth a planner’s consideration as well. Saint Paul features a pair of meeting halls: the RiverCentre, with 68,000 square feet of exhibit space and 15 meeting rooms, and the versatile Xcel Energy Center that seats up to 18,000 for all sorts of events. Minneapolis recently unveiled a host of new venues, including Target Field, the Minnesota Twins’ new stadium, and the University of Minnesota TCF Bank Stadium.

Michigan’s popular capital city of Lansing continues to add new properties to its metro area while updating others, including the Radisson Lansing Hotel and the East Lansing Marriott. In the Motor City area, meanwhile, the 453-room Westin Book Cadillac Detroit and the 203-unit Doubletree Guest Suites Fort Shelby have wrapped up renovations.

Iowa, Missouri & Kansas

Many planners and their attendees are pleasantly surprised after a meeting in the central states of Iowa, Missouri and Kansas. Sure, these states are covered in graceful rows of corn and wheat, but you’ll also find wineries, fine dining, arts and culture, colleges and universities, and sports and recreation.

Iowans take their meetings industry seriously. Witness the $42 million expansion and renovation getting underway at Des Moines’ Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Built in 1954, the auditorium, later known at “Vets,” became one of the leading events venues in the nation. Today, it’s part of the larger Iowa Events Center, which also has the 100,000-sq.-ft. Hy-Vee Hall for exhibitions, and the Wells Fargo Arena, which hosts concerts and sporting events. The renovation of the auditorium will add 32,875 square feet of meeting space and a 28,730-sq.-ft. ballroom.

East of Des Moines is Amana Colonies, a rural landmark and collection of seven villages known for its family-style cooking, homemade wine and furniture, and rock-solid Midwestern spirit. Buildings date back to the 1850s, echoing traditional German and American Colonial architecture. The colonies boast enough meeting space to accommodate 400 people.

Missouri makes it easy for people to get outside at meetings and events. Located in the Ozark Mountains in the southwest corner of the state, the Branson area has three lakes, theme parks and golfing for groups. Take an afternoon to explore Dogwood Canyon Nature Park, a 10,000-acre park with rock bluffs, waterfalls, hiking and biking trails, and log cabins. Groups can go hiking and biking, horseback riding, trout fishing and kayaking. Of course, a trip to Branson should include a live entertainment show for which the town is famous. Watch one of more than 40 live daily shows at Silver Dollar City or listen to hits from the ’60s at Caravel Theatre.

Missouri and Kansas share one big town: Kansas City. In Missouri, the city completed a $135 million renovation to the convention center in 2007, adding a 46,500-sq.-ft. ballroom, one of the 10 largest ballrooms in the nation. The center spans eight blocks and has 388,000 square feet of exhibit space and 45 meeting rooms. More developments followed, including the new Entertainment District, an $835 million project that added eight blocks of retail, dining and music venues to the downtown landscape three blocks from the convention center.

On the Kansas side, Overland Park offers large-scale meeting facilities in a laid-back, casual suburban town. The Overland Park Convention Center has 237,000 square feet of meeting space that includes an exhibition hall, seven meeting rooms and an outdoor veranda. Nearby Johnson County Community College has meeting space throughout campus, including the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art that can host groups up to 300 people and has on-site catering. If it’s arts, dining and abundant meeting space you want, you can find it on both sides of the border.

— Marc Boisclair