Evoking images of the Great Plains, Native Americans, cowboys, and cavalry outposts, Kansas represents the heart and soul of America.
Today its location at the center of the contiguous states, its affordability and its reviving downtown communities, burgeoning suburbs and expanding array of attractions are among the biggest selling points for groups.
Soon the Sunflower State will be blooming even more with new group-friendly casino destinations. Legislation passed last year will result in the construction of four casino resorts, each with gaming and entertainment, accommodations and meeting venues. The projects, which are still in the application phase, will be located in the Kansas City area, the Wichita area, the Dodge City area, and the region encompassing Crawford and Cherokee counties in southeastern Kansas.
Topeka
Visit Topeka uses the slogan “Kansas Begins Here” to promote a city with a metro population of more than 220,000 off the Kansas Turnpike, 70 miles from Kansas City International Airport in Missouri.
“As the capital city and with easy access, Topeka is a natural for the government and association markets. Meeting planners are assured of record attendance here,” says Linda Briden, vice president of sales for Visit Topeka.
Hotel occupancy has increased in each of the last three years, according to Briden, and the religious and SMERF markets have grown steadily.
The city’s primary group venue, the Kansas Expocentre, recently expanded, making it more attractive and easier to navigate. In September, the Expocentre added 8,500 square feet of additional entryway and prefunction space to its 210,000 square feet of existing space.
Equipped with more than 3,000 rooms in more than 30 hotels, Topeka has three major convention hotels: the 224-room Capitol Plaza Hotel, connected to the Expocentre, with 25,000 square of meeting space; Holiday Inn–Holidome, with 12,000 square feet of function space; and the Topeka Ramada, with 30,000 square feet of meeting space. Just outside Topeka is Prairie Band Hotel and Casino, with more than 297 guest rooms and several meeting venues.
As the repository of much of the state’s heritage, Topeka is stacked with more than 20 museums, five performing arts venues and other attractions, including the Topeka Zoo and Heartland Park Topeka for motor racing.
Lures such as the Great Overland Station, Kansas Museum of His tory, Topeka Performing Arts Center, and Old Prairie Town also double as unique off-site venues.
Wichita
Home to six aircraft manufacturers and McConnell Air Force Base, and known as the “Air Capital of the World,” the state’s largest city, situated in south central Kansas on the Arkansas River, has a metro population of more than 580,000.
Utilizing the tagline “We Got the Goods,” Wichita boasts more than 7,000 guest rooms, more than 40 attractions and 1,000 dining options. In recent years, new suburban entertainment districts such as the Plazzio, Regency Lakes and The Waterfront have popped up.
Olivia Simmons, vice president at the Greater Wichita CVB, says a study found that the biggest attraction for visitors arriving from within 300 miles is the city’s wide selection of great restaurants and shopping all over town.
“And we not only have competitive hotel rates; the dollar also goes far here for shopping, entertainment and dining,” she says.
Old Town, a downtown tourist draw, has been revitalized with boutique stores, restaurants and attractions in converted historical buildings, and it’s within walking distance of the Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center, which includes 195,500 square feet of open floor space.
About 700 rooms are within walking distance of the center, including the connected 303-room Hyatt Regency Wichita, which has 33,000 square feet of meeting space. Old Town has two hotels, both warehouse conversions with meeting space: the Hotel at Old Town and the Courtyard by Marriott, which opened in December 2006.
“We had a high percentage of empty downtown buildings, but that’s changing,” Simmons says, pointing to two projects within walking distance of Century II that will make Wichita even more appealing.
Wichita WaterWalk, a $130 million, 30-acre office, retail and entertainment district with a 2,000-seat amphitheater, will begin opening along the Arkansas River this spring. The first-phase anchor tenant, an 87,000-square-foot Gander Mountain outdoors retailer, opened in 2005.
The other project, the 15,000-seat multipurpose Sedgwick County Arena, broke ground in December and is slated to open in January 2010.
Besides the Hyatt, other large meetings properties include Grand Prairie Hotel and Convention Center, with 51,000 square feet of meeting space; Broadview, with 25,000 square feet of function space; Hilton Wichita Airport Executive Conference Center, with 22,000 square feet of meeting space; and Marriott Wichita, with 14,000 square feet of function space.
Construction is expected to begin in late 2008 on a new $150 million Wichita Mid-Continent Airport terminal, which will replace the present facility in 2011.
Salina
Roughly 180 miles west of Kansas City is Salina. Grain elevators attest to its location in the heart of the world’s most productive wheat region.
With a population of almost 50,000, it has 1,900 hotel rooms, a Kansas State University campus, a symphony orchestra, and a diversified manufacturing base.
Two top attractions in town are the Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure, featuring a 64,000-square-foot museum, a 60-acre zoo, a restaurant, and a 275-seat divisible ballroom, and the Smoky Hill Vineyards & Winery, with a function capacity for 250 people.
The Salina Bicentennial Center has more than 21,000 square feet of floor space and can seat up to 7,500 people; the Salina Country Livestock and Expo Center has 17,000 square feet of space.
Meetings-ready properties include the Holiday Inn Holidome, with 10,000 square feet of meeting space, and the Webster Conference Center, offering accommodations, 15,000 square feet of function space and team-building options.
Kansas City
Located at the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas rivers, and across from the larger Kansas City, Mo., Kansas City, Kan., comes under a unified government with Wyandotte County. Here, the Kansas City, Kansas/Wyandotte County CVB markets the region with the slogan, “The Dot’s Got It.”
It’s got it in part because of Kansas Speedway and its NASCAR races debuting six years ago. Ten miles west of downtown, it spurred destination development with a big concentration of off-site venue opportunities.
Village West, a 400-acre entertainment and retail district, began opening nearby—first with a Cabela’s outdoor retailer, then a giant Nebraska Furniture Mart. It now also includes the Community America Park, home of the Kansas City T-Bones minor-league baseball team, and the Great Wolf Lodge, boasting a 40,000-square-foot indoor waterpark.
The Legends at Village West shopping center, which began opening two years ago, includes the T-REX Cafe, billed as an interactive prehistoric adventure with life-size dinosaurs.
Nearby, Schlitterbahn Waterparks will begin opening its first project outside Texas in summer 2009. The 300-acre Schlitterbahn Vacation Village will be a resort, retail and entertainment destination.
Kansas City has more than 1,400 hotel rooms. Major properties catering to groups include Hilton Garden Inn and Jack Reardon Convention Center, with 20,000 square feet of function space; Best Western Inn and Conference Center; and Great Wolf Lodge.
The National Agricultural Center & Hall of Fame also has a range of function space.
Overland Park
Metro Kansas City’s largest suburban community is Overland Park, an upscale area with 70-plus parks that is promoted as “The Natural Choice.”
“We have a unique blend of metropolitan amenities and suburban hospitality packaged in a fresh, contemporary setting,” says Amy Garton, marketing manager for the Overland Park CVB.
Opened in 2002, the Overland Park Convention Center delivers 237,000 total square feet of space and is connected to the 412-room Sheraton Overland Park, with another 20,000 square feet of meeting space. About 1,000 of the city’s 5,000 rooms in 32 hotels are within walking distance of the convention center.
Garton says the convention center has significantly changed the meetings and conventions scene.
“It’s successfully averaged 55,000 convention-related room nights a year and has had a dramatic impact on our overall occupancy rates,” she says.
According to Garton, the city and Sprint Nextel Corporation (Overland Park’s largest employer) are looking to develop a 55-acre entertainment district across from the convention center, and the city is in the process of selecting a developer.
Another major group venue is the Overland Park International Trade Center, with 59,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space, while top meetings hotels include Marriott Overland Park, Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Overland Park West and Doubletree at Corporate Woods.
Among the city’s main attractions are the 300-acre Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens; a handful of upscale malls, including Oak Park Mall, with more than 180 stores; and the 600-seat New Theatre Restaurant, showcasing year-round shows and entertainment.
In fall 2009, the city plans to open a $29 million, 12-field soccer park, which is designed to attract regional and national events.
Meanwhile, Johnson County Community College’s Center for Business and Technology consolidated in a new building, the 160,000-square-foot Regnier Center, last summer. It includes classrooms, computer labs and a conference center with 5,000 square feet of divisible space. Adjoining Regnier Center is the new 36,000-square-foot Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art.
Lawrence
Prominent in history for its anti-slavery stand in the pre-Civil War “Bleeding Kansas” era, Lawrence stands out in the 21st century for the many accolades it has garnered.
Just 40 miles west of Kansas City and 20 miles east of Topeka, the home of the University of Kansas has received praise as a bike-friendly town, as a small art town, for its performing arts, and for its business expansion. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has ranked Lawrence among its “Dozen Most Distinctive Destinations.”
“We offer a blend of big-city amenities and small-town charm,” says Kate Eichten, conventions marketing manager for the Lawrence CVB. “Groups can stay downtown. It’s alive and well and has unique venues.”
Eichten says behind-the-scenes tours to attractions such as the Free State Brewery and the Reuter Organ Factory provide unique opportunities for groups.
Top attractions include the Spencer Art Museum at the University of Kansas and the Dole Institute of Politics, which features exhibits on Kansas and American history.
Lawrence offers 16 hotels with approximately 1,100 rooms, and its largest meetings properties are the Holiday Inn Holidome Convention Center, with 17,000 square feet of function space; The Eldridge Hotel; and Springhill Suites by Marriott.
Events can also be held at the Kansas University Memorial Unions, and for larger gatherings, the Douglas County Fairgrounds offers various venues.
Additionally, with more than 40 sports-related facilities, the sports market provides big business for Lawrence.
Manhattan
Located in the Flint Hills region roughly 57 miles west of Topeka, Manhattan is home to Kansas State University, known as K-State, as well as the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley.
“We’re in a beautiful part of the state with rolling hills and grasslands—great cattle country—but we also have great arts and entertainment,” says Karen Hibbard, vice president at the Manhattan CVB, noting that National Geographic featured the area in April 2007 under the headline, “The Flint Hills: A Kansas Treasure.”
For 30 years, the Kansas version of Gotham City has promoted itself the “Little Apple,” a tagline that Hibbard says has worked well.
The town can comfortably accommodate groups of 250 to 300 people, according to Hibbard. However, it hosts a Kansas Farm Bureau event every November for 1,000 people.
K-State features the town’s largest space for groups: Union Hall, a multipurpose facility offering 250,000 square feet of space with 32 meeting rooms (including a 1,000-seat ballroom) and an alumni center that can host groups of up to 450 people.
Manhattan also has a Holiday Inn and a Clarion, each with about 12,000 square feet of meeting space, and among its nine hotels totaling 885 rooms are several limited-service properties with meeting space.
Other venues include the Wareham Opera House, the 12,500-seat multipurpose Bramlage Coliseum and the 500-seat Houston Street Ballroom.
In nearby Junction City, the Geary County Convention Center is connected to a Courtyard by Marriott, and together the properties have 16,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
Dodge City
As the inspiration for the TV show Gunsmoke and as the former residence of Wyatt Earp and “Buffalo Bill” Cody, Dodge City, located in southwestern Kansas, is renowned for its Western roots and Old West ambience.
“The Old West is just waiting here to be discovered,” says Carol McQuiggin, group/tour coordinator at the Dodge City CVB.
Today, Dodge City is a community of 25,000 people with more than 800 hotel rooms and 20 places across town to hold meetings and events. Its civic center seats up to 2,800 people, and The Dodge House Hotel & Convention Center, the largest meetings hotel in town, can handle groups of up to 500 people.
After-hours spots include a dinner theater at the restored Santa Fe Depot/Harvey House; Central Station, a restaurant and club in an old Santa Fe freight house; and the Longhorn Saloon.
“There is basketball with our semi-pro team, the Legend, and car racing, and groups can take in the Boot Hill Museum for a chuckwagon supper, see a gunfight reenactment or see Miss Kitty and the Can Can girls at the Longbranch Saloon,” McQuiggin says.
Two new hotels with meeting space opened in 2007: the 77-room La Quinta Inn & Suites and the 65-room Best Western Country Suites.
All 4-Fun, a new attraction with party venues, go-carts and miniature golf, also recently opened.
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 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.visittopeka.travel
