The wide semicircle of suburbs outlining Chicago lends events the zesty flavor of the mightiest metropolis between the coasts without the traffic jams, the noise or the expense.
Top-tier attractions provide a strong draw in the form of the Midwest’s largest theme park, the nation’s third-largest shopping mall and one of its largest zoos, as well as unique museums, Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings, golf courses, and sculpture gardens.
What the suburbs offer that Chicago proper can’t is sheer space—parking space, forested green space and arguably a wider variety of meeting space. After all, wineries, riverboat casinos, country mansions, and water parks are thin on the ground in the Windy City, but in the suburbs planners are spoiled for choice, with these and other unique venues and enticing group activities.
And of course, if a taste of urban Chicago itself is what’s called for—why, it’s only an hour or less away.
Northern Suburbs
Stretching north from Chicago along the shore of Lake Michigan, Chicago’s North Shore and Lake County encompass cities and towns such as Evanston (home of Northwestern University), Skokie, Wilmette, and Northbrook, each of which take pride in their wealth of green space and clear water, and planners will be pleased by the array of activities this presents.
Gardens, beaches and nature parks, dozens of lakes in which to fish, swim and boat, and of course, the massive Six Flags Great America and Hurricane Harbor are great options for group activities from spring through autumn.
Any time of year, indoor attractions such as the Bahai House of Worship, the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, the Great Lakes Naval Museum, the Volo Auto Museum, Gurnee Mills outlet, and Northwestern University’s Block Museum of Art, the largest fine art museum between Chicago and Milwaukee, are especially appealing.
In June, ground was broken on the new Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie. When it opens in 2008, the 65,000-square-foot facility will be the largest in the Midwest dedicated to memorializing those who perished and survived, and educating visitors about the tragic consequences of bigotry.
Holiday Inn Chicago/Skokie began construction of the 11,000-square-foot Skokie Convention and Banquet Center in April. The new facility will bring the 244-room property’s meeting space to more than 14,000 square feet upon its completion early this year.
September 2006 marked the grand opening of the Chicago Botanic Garden’s newly renovated, 100,000-square-foot Regenstein Center. Located in Glencoe, the garden offers a variety of indoor and outdoor meeting spaces with the lush backdrop of the gardens. These include a 225-seat auditorium and the grand Nichols Hall, capable of accommodating 350 and graced by a two-story skylight.
In Wheeling, the 412-room Westin Chicago North Shore debuted in September with 35,000 square feet of meeting space.
In Lake County, KeyLime Cove Resort is scheduled to break ground this month and open in late spring 2008. The 414-room resort and 64,500-square-foot water park will be built in Gurnee, near Six Flags Great America. The resort will feature 12,000 square feet of meeting space, and future plans call for an expansion of meeting space to 60,000 total square feet, as well as 200 additional guest rooms.
“Lake County has always been known as a great leisure destination,” says Maureen Riedy, president of the Lake County CVB. “But we also provide outstanding settings for small to midsize meetings and value for meeting planners.
“Lake County offers close proximity to O’Hare Airport and downtown Chicago and many beautiful, natural settings for meetings and retreats,” Riedy adds. “We have more than 50 hotels and three resorts, thousands of acres of forest preserves, 75 lakes and two state parks. Lake County offers a variety of exceptional venues, including historic mansions, museums, forest preserves, garden pavilions, and first-class resorts.”
Some of the most popular meetings hotels in the North Shore and Lake County include Hotel Orrington, Best Western University Plaza and Hilton Garden Inn in Evanston; Hilton Northbrook, Radisson Northbrook and Wingate Inn Northbrook; Renaissance Chicago North Shore in Skokie; and Marriott Lincolnshire Resort and Harrison Conference Center in Lake County.
Northwestern Suburbs
As the home of O’Hare International Airport, the northwestern suburbs welcome most Chicago visitors to the area.
It’s a wonder that many ever make it into the city, with tempting distractions like the massive Woodfield Shopping Center and the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design in Schaumberg, tours of Fermi National Laboratory in Batavia, and the Illinois Railway Musuem, the nation’s largest train museum, in Elgin.
Things are hopping in the metro northwest, and not just the thoroughbreds at Arlington Park race track. A number of noteworthy new venues have made their debut in the past year.
The 500-room Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center celebrated its grand opening in July 2006. The new $224 million, 45-acre complex houses a 100,000-square-foot, pillar-free exhibit space and 48,000 square feet of meeting space.
In November, Sheraton Chicago Northwest in Arlington Heights introduced its new CoCo Key Water Resort. The 65,000-square-foot, 190,000-gallon indoor facility is one of the largest water parks in the Midwest. A unique option for team-building events, the resort features water cannons, giant whirlpools, a 1,000-gallon bucket dump, and a cinema-size screen that provides entertainment while guests splash away. The hotel offers 30,000 square feet of meeting space and 426 guest rooms.
In October, the new 11,000-seat Sears Centre arena opened in Hoffman Estates to host sports events and concerts.
“We are thrilled about the addition of three new venues that truly complement our already excellent choices for meeting planners,” says Fran Bolson, president of the Greater Woodfield CVB. “Within six months, we have added the convention center, an entertainment and sporting venue, and a water resort. We can cover a lot of planners’ needs and appeal to considerable markets with the choices that we are now able to offer.”
For larger events, Rosemont’s capacious, centralized venues make it the natural choice. Donald E. Stevens Convention Center offers 840,000 square feet of exhibition space next door to the 92,000-square-foot Rosemont Conference Center. Allstate Arena seats up to 18,500, and the 4,400-seat Rosemont Theatre is available for events when not presenting Broadway-caliber entertainment. Fourteen nearby hotels comprise a total of nearly 6,000 rooms.
For the ultimate in convenience to transportation, a large number of well-equipped airport hotels are available near O’Hare, including brands such as Crowne Plaza, Doubletree, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Sheraton, Westin, and Wyndham.
Farther west, the Northern Fox River Valley is dotted with friendly, fast-growing communities with historic downtown districts, such as East Dundee, Elgin and Algonquin.
Unique venues are easy to come by in Elgin, home of the famous Elgin Watch Company. The Grand Victoria Casino offers 4,400 square feet of banquet space overlooking the Fox River. Elgin Community College/Fox Valley University and Business Center houses the 200-seat Seigle Auditorium and six smaller meeting rooms.
“The Northern Fox River Valley has a plethora of exciting and unique meeting options for planners,” says Kimberly A. Bless, president and CEO of the Elgin Area CVB. “We expect to build even more hotels and offer many more meeting options in the future to ensure that the Elgin area remains top of mind with planners and attendees alike.”
Western Suburbs
Equidistant from O’Hare and Midway international airports, the communities west of Chicago—Oak Park, St. Charles, Lisle, Aurora, Wheaton, Downers Grove, and many more—may be some of the most conveniently located in a region that puts convenient locations on the map. It’s also rife with interesting things for groups to do.
Oak Park has the honor not merely of claiming the largest number of Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings anywhere, but of being the great architect’s home for 20 years. The Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, available for group tours, was his home and office for the early part of his career. For the literarily inclined, the Ernest Hemingway Museum is also located in Oak Park, “Papa’s” birthplace.
In Wheaton, Cantigny Park is home to the historic Robert R. McCormick Museum, the military First Division Museum, formal gardens, and the Freedom Museum. The Billy Graham Center Museum, also in Wheaton, provides exhibits chronicling the history of Christian evangelism in the U.S.
Lisle is well-known for its Morton Arboretum, a popular attraction featuring forests and gardens.
Many of the towns themselves are planning facelifts, eager to keep their best foot forward for tourism and meetings business.
St. Charles has broken ground on a five-year development project that will include space for new retail stores in its bustling downtown.
“St. Charles offers a unique and quaint experience for meeting attendees,” says Amy Bull, director of sales at the St. Charles CVB. “Our historic downtown, located along the banks of the Fox River, provides a multitude of experiences, from independently owned restaurants and boutiques to river-based activities such as canoeing, kayaking, and even paddlewheel boat rides.”
St. Charles’ Pheasant Run Resort is one of the larger meeting venues in the region. The property is set on 250 acres and features 36 holes of golf, 473 guest rooms, 100,000 square feet of meeting space, and a full-service spa.
DuPage Expo Center, located on the Pheasant Run campus, offers 23,000 square feet of column-free space, and across from Pheasant Run is the Hilton Garden Inn and Advanced Center for Training.
Q Center, also in St. Charles, is an IACC-approved corporate training facility with more than 150,000 square feet of space.
St. Charles offers a selection of truly unique venues, both old and new. Located at DuPage Airport, the Technology Research, Education, and Commercialization Center is administered cooperatively by the University of Illinois, the Navy and a national supercomputing organization. The facility showcases next-generation technology and has a conference room seating 20. State-of-the-art videoconferencing is available. St. Charles’ Hotel Baker, built in 1928 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, can accommodate meetings as large as 200. Noteworthy features include an oval ballroom and a patio with a view of the Fox River.
Lisle, located in DuPage County, is also undergoing a transformation.
“In the next two years, the downtown area of Lisle will go through a renovation that will reflect the history and surroundings of this unique location,” says Rick Hud, executive director of the Lisle CVB. “It will incorporate the [Morton] Arboretum influence with a Prairie-style design and look to reflect a warm, welcoming influence upon its visitors.
“Our exceptional hotel staff, convenient location and user-friendly suburban surroundings are frequently touted as benefits of staying in Lisle,” Hud adds.
The 383-room Hickory Ridge Marriott Conference Hotel in Lisle is situated on 26 wooded acres and has a 60,000-square-foot conference center. The Lisle-based Corporate Learning Institute offers ropes courses for training and team building on the Marriott property.
Lisle also offers group-friendly properties by Wyndham, Hilton and Hyatt.
Other meetings standouts in the western suburbs include Oak Brook’s Doubletree, Marriott, Renaissance, and Wyndham Drake hotels; Oak Brook Hills Marriott Resort; Eaglewood Conference Resort and Spa and Wyndham Northwest Chicago in Itasca; Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale; Esplanade Conference Center at Doubletree Guest Suites in Downers Grove; and Lindner Conference Center in Lombard.
Chicago Southland
The wide swathe of towns south of Chicago and east of the Indiana border include Joliet, Tinley Park, Oak Lawn, and more than 50 other rapidly growing communities. Chicago Midway Airport is a convenient gateway to the region, which offers a diverse array of attractions.
Standouts include the Illinois Aviation Museum, which is housed at Bolingbrook’s Clow International Airport and restores and displays historic aircraft, and the Illinois State Museum, which is located in Lockport and promotes knowledge and appreciation of the state’s nature, culture and artists.
The largest development in the region was the opening in June 2006 of Toyota Park, a Major League Soccer stadium capable of seating 20,000 for sporting events or 28,000 for concerts. Located in Bridgeview, the new facility is home turf for the Chicago Fire and is available for special event rentals.
Scheduled to open this summer, the Wild West-themed Frontier Lodge and Conference Center in LaSalle will add 18,000 square feet of meeting space and a 61,000-square-foot indoor water park to the area’s roster of fun and family-friendly event spaces.
“Typically, planners love the accessibility and complimentary services that the Chicago Southland has to offer,” says Mary Patchin, director of sales at Chicago Southland CVB. “We are close to Chicago, but without the city prices or city parking. With more and more flights going in and out of Midway, I see the Southland being more of a draw for meetings with attendees flying in.”
Major meetings hotels in the Southland include Holiday Inn Select Hotel and Convention Center in Tinley Park; Hilton Oak Lawn; Doubletree Hotel Alsip; Chicago Marriott Southwest and The Oaks Hotel and Conference Center in Burr Ridge; and the recently renovated Chicago Marriott Midway, one of seven properties at Midway Center Hotel.
In the Heritage Corridor, the riverboat casinos of Joliet are popular with groups, in addition to a wealth of other lures.
“We have modern attractions such as a NASCAR track, a newly built Minor League Baseball stadium and casinos,” says Mary Beth Degrush, vice president of the Heritage Corridor CVB, which includes Joliet and numerous other communities. “But then we also have historic theaters and mansions. And the outdoor terrain is fantastic for team-building events.”
Other unique venues in the Heritage Corridor include the historic Freight House Grill in Mendota, Brunswick Zone, a 48-lane bowling facility with meeting space in Romeoville, and Grizzly Jack’s Grand Bear Lodge in Utica, Illinois’ first indoor water park, with a 6,000-square-foot ballroom and several smaller meeting spaces.
“Planners comment on the convenience of holding their event in the Heritage Corridor. As more and more facilities are constructed and opened, the Corridor will see an increase in the meetings market,” Degrush says.
For More Info
Aurora CVB 630.897.5581
www.enjoyaurora.com
Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau 312.567.8500
www.choosechicago.com
Chicago Southland CVB 708.895.8200
www.cscvb.com
Chicago’s North Shore CVB 847.763.0011
www.visitchicagonorthshore.com
DuPage CVB 630.575.8070
www.dupagecvb.com
Elgin Area CVB 847.695.7540
www.enjoyelgin.com
Greater Woodfield CVB 847.490.1010
www.chicagonorthwest.com
Heritage Corridor CVB 815.727.2323
www.heritagecorridorcvb.com
Lake County CVB 847.662.2700
www.lakecounty.org
Lisle CVB 630.769.1000
www.lislecvb.com
Oak Park Area CVB 708.524.7800
www.visitoakpark.com
Prospect Heights CVB 847.577.3666
www.chicagonorthsuburbs.com
Rosemont Convention Bureau 847.823.2100
www.rosemont.com
St. Charles CVB 630.377.6161
www.visitstcharles.com
