The winds of history sweep across the great plains of Kansas, the voices of Native Americans, cowboys, pioneers, and soldiers whispering through its wildflowers and tall grasses. As the geographical epicenter of the contiguous U.S., Kansas has seen generations of overlanders pass through on the Santa Fe, Chisholm and Oregon-California trails, and on Route 66. Today, this former outpost is maturing into a well-equipped, multifaceted meetings destination to stop and stay awhile.
Topeka
In 2006, the Topeka CVB was rebranded as Visit Topeka under a new identity campaign designed to better state its mission of serving visitors and conferees, according to Linda Briden, the bureau’s vice president of sales.
“While traditionally we have been a drive-to destination for groups from Kansas and bordering states,” Briden says, “we are now receiving more inquires from Illinois, Indiana and beyond, with some national meetings in the mix, too.
“As the state capital, we are primarily a heritage-based tourism destination,” she adds. “Meetings-wise, we have the additional advantages of affordability and an accessible central location, which optimizes attendance.”
Currently in the final stages of a renovation, the multipurpose Kansas Expocentre is the city’s largest group venue, with flexible space that includes the Agricultural Hall, with a capacity for 2,400 people. Maner Conference Center and the Capitol Plaza Hotel are connected to the Expocentre, offering 116,000 square feet of exhibit and meeting space and 224 guest rooms in one convenient location.
Topeka has two other convention hotels: the Holiday Inn–Holidome and the Ramada, part of a 31-property, 3,000-room hotel portfolio.
For off-site excursions and spousal choices, Topeka has interesting seasonal agritourism products, including tulip tours and lavender farm tours. The sturdy-legged can take narrated tours up 296 steps to the top of the Capitol Dome, folk art fans can see six half-buried antique trucks at Truckhenge, and the Topeka Civic Theatre is a group-friendly choice for dinner and a performance.
Wichita
Known as the “Air Capital of the World” for its aircraft manufacturing, Kansas’ largest city is also taking off as a dynamic visitor and business destination.
Ranked ninth on CNN/Money and Money magazine’s 2006 list of the 10 best big U.S. cities for living, Wichita has been introducing the retail-dining-entertainment-hotel mix into previously vacant and post-industrial neighborhoods, giving the city a truly cosmopolitan makeover.
“From the new hot spots downtown to the waterfront on the east side, we have seen incredible growth over the past four years,” says Olivia Reynolds, vice president of the Greater Wichita CVB.
The 721,000-square-foot Century II Convention Center is set in the heart of downtown, and three new hotels have boosted the room inventory to more than 7,000, enhancing the city’s existing lineup of meetings properties, such as the Hyatt Regency Wichita, the Marriott Wichita and the Hilton Wichita Airport Executive Conference Center.
“Wichita is taking a big step up from its traditional appeal as a regional drive-to leisure destination, especially with the signing of four national and international conventions for 2007 and 2009,” Reynolds says.
Her colleague, director of sales Maureen Hofrenning, says Wichita is building on the success of new districts, including Plazzio, Regency Lakes and The WaterFront, by developing additional hotels, off-site meeting venues and outdoor shopping districts.
Wichita WaterWalk, a $130 million, 30-acre, mixed-use retail and entertainment district, has first-phase tenant Gander Mountain in place and will fully open by early 2009, around the time the multipurpose, 15,000-seat Sedgwick County Arena debuts downtown.
“There is also excitement building around the slated 2007 opening of the $26 million Wild West World, the first major theme park in Kansas and the world’s first all-Western-themed amusement park,” Reynolds says.
Salina
This farm-based community of around 47,000 has a reputation for being wild—at the Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure, that is.
This conference-capable, 64,000-square-foot museum is one of Salina’s many surprises. Fully robotic animatronic characters guide visitors through seven unique ecosystems from around the globe. Boasting the world’s largest taxidermy collection, the facility is also home to a fine zoo with several rare species.
Founded in 1858, Salina is strategically positioned at the geographic center of the U.S., and with 1,900 hotel rooms and a vibrant cultural scene, it is well established on the meetings and conventions map, welcoming more than 500,000 visitors annually.
The highly versatile Salina Bicentennial Center has more than 21,000 square feet of floor space and seating for up to 7,500 guests.
Prior to Prohibition, Kansas was a top grape-producing state. The event-friendly Smoky Hill Vineyards and Winery has successfully revived this tradition, with seating for 130 in its dining facility and 250 on its vine-draped veranda and deck.
Other group-friendly choices include the Rolling Hills Conference Center and Smoky Hill Museum.
Don’t miss the tiny hamburgers at the Cozy Inn, either, an 83-year-old Salina institution that sells its miniscule patties by the sack.
Kansas City
No, it’s not that Kansas City, across the way in neighboring Missouri. This is Kansas City, Kan., resting on the banks where the Missouri and Kansas rivers meet but busy at work developing a new retail, dining, entertainment, and hotel profile to go with its 1,413 area rooms.
Even if you are not among the 75 million or so U.S. racing fans, the NASCAR events at the 80,000-seat Kansas Speedway are not to be missed, and with meeting and convention space for up to 5,000, the facility is one of KC’s top group draws.
Also making a monster impact is the recent opening of T-REX, a dinosaur-themed entertainment, dining and educational center, which, along with the Speedway, is a meetings-ready component of the new mixed-use Village West development.
The Jack Reardon Convention Center and adjacent Hilton Garden Inn combine to offer 147 rooms and 20,000 square feet of function space.
The area’s other two convention hotels are the Best Western Inn and Conference Center and the Great Wolf Lodge, with a 40,000-square-foot indoor water park.
Other meeting facilities include the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame, chartered by Congress to honor America’s farmers, and the CommunityAmerica Ballpark, home to the popular Kansas City T-Bones Minor League Baseball team.
Overland Park
The event-ready Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens exemplifies the abundance of green space in this upscale Kansas City suburb, which balances a strong local corporate presence and cosmopolitan amenities with an all-natural ambience of ease and tranquility.
Featuring a dramatic nine-story glass tower and a beautifully landscaped, football field–size courtyard, the Overland Park Convention Center, with 237,000 total square feet of space, has significantly improved the city’s ability to host large-scale corporate and association meetings. Directly connected to the 412-room Sheraton Overland Park, the convention center is also within easy walking distance of more than 4,000 hotel rooms, representing around 80 percent of the city’s total inventory.
Other top meetings hotel choices are the Marriott Overland Park, the Doubletree at Corporate Woods and two Holiday Inn properties.
For unwinding after meetings, Overland Park is filled with restaurants, specialty stores, boutiques, and entertainment options, as well as 78 parks and plenty of open space areas, including the nearly 17-mile Indian Creek Hike and Bike Trail. For a lively serving of nostalgia, Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Grill has two private rooms for parties and events, and for 30 years, the New Theatre Restaurant has been dishing out dining and entertainment recognized by The Wall Street Journal as the “best dinner theater in the country.”
Lawrence
More than 100 years ago, Dr. James Naismith brought basketball to the University of Kansas and Lawrence. Sports, needless to say, is big in this bustling college town of 80,000. The Lawrence Sports Corporation markets and promotes Lawrence as a preferred athletic destination, and with 44 area sporting-related facilities, Lawrence is an easy choice for state, regional and national events.
Conveniently located 45 minutes from Kansas City International Airport, Lawrence is also known for its cultural ambience, upscale downtown district, museums, and nightlife. The eleven galleries at the Spencer Art Museum showcase one of the most comprehensive university art collections in the U.S., while Civil War buffs have the Dole Institute of Politics, featuring exhibits on Kansas and American history and offering a 120-seat seminar room. Liberty Hall, a restored opera house, provides a beautiful setting for live entertainment.
Lawrence has 16 hotels with a total of 1,152 rooms, including meetings-ready options such as the Holiday Inn Holidome and Convention Center and SpringHill Suites by Marriott. The Kansas University Memorial Unions also hosts events, and for larger gatherings, the Douglas County Fairgrounds offers various venues.
Manhattan
Nestled in the Flint Hills of northeast Kansas, this picturesque community has a trademarked “Little Apple” moniker and even celebrates New Year’s Eve Gotham-style, dropping an apple-shaped ball atop Varney’s Book Store.
Edging the Kansas River and boasting classic prairie views, entrepreneurially minded Manhattan, named by settlers at the prompting of some New York investors, is home to Kansas State University and offers plenty of cultural and recreational opportunities for groups.
Last year, strategic consultants commissioned by the Manhattan CVB confirmed that the addition of at least 10,000 square feet of conference space and another hotel was not only appropriate for Manhattan, but would elevate its standing in the Kansas meetings market. Feasibility discussions are under way.
Presently, Manhattan has nine hotels with 885 rooms, including the popular Holiday Inn, and a variety of meeting facilities. Unique venues include the Wareham Opera House, Bramlage Coliseum, McCain Auditorium, and Houston Street Ballroom.
In nearby Junction City, tours are available at the still-active Fort Riley military base, once America’s most famous cavalry training school, and the spacious new Geary County Convention Center is connected via covered walkway to a Courtyard by Marriott. Together, the properties offer 16,000 square feet of meeting space.
Dodge City
It is little surprise that Dodge City is the hometown of born-to-be-wild actor Dennis Hopper.
Originally a series of forts built to protect travelers on the Santa Fe Trail, this once-wild cowboy town was a true Old West frontier settlement of roaming buffalo, cattle drives and desperate gunslingers. Famous residents such as Wyatt Earp and “Buffalo Bill” Cody helped make Dodge City the inspiration for the popular radio and TV show Gunsmoke. Many gunfighters literally died with their boots on.
Today, the original site of the Boot Hill Cemetery is home to the Boot Hill Museum, a Western history village featuring stagecoach rides and gunfight re-enactments.
Other attractions include the Gunfighters Wax Museum, the circa-1881 Home of Stone and the Marchel Ranch Chuckwagon Dinner and Wild West Show.
The Dodge House Hotel and Convention Center is part of a portfolio of 700-plus guest rooms and more than 20 meeting facilities across town.
For More Info
Dodge City CVB 620.225.8186
www.visitdodgecity.org
Greater Wichita CVB 316.265.2800
www.visitwichita.com
Junction City/Geary County CVB 785.238.2885
www.junctioncity.org
Kansas City, Kansas/Wyandotte County CVB 913.321.5800
www.visitthedot.com
Lawrence CVB 785.865.4411
www.visitlawrence.com
Manhattan CVB 785.776.8829
www.manhattancvb.org
Meet Kansas
www.meetkansas.com
Overland Park CVB 913.491.0123
www.opcvb.org
Salina Area COC 785.827.9301
www.salinakansas.org
Topeka CVB 785.234.1030
www.topekacvb.org
