Iowa’s capital city and the communities surrounding it comprise a meetings destination in an enviable central position in the country, a land of agricultural bounty that is also a white-collar insurance hub akin to Hartford, Conn. Representatives of the area, including Greg Edwards, president and CEO of the Greater Des Moines CVB, are proud of this diversity and also point to recent infrastructure growth—some $1.5 billion spent over the past five years in downtown alone—that makes the area even more attractive to a variety of groups, namely regional and national small to midsize meetings.
“Our main industries are insurance-, financial- and ag-related, so we have a lot of corporate strength here,” Edwards says, adding that there is no shortage of groups that book Des Moines, including a recent National Governors Association meeting. “As the capital city, we get a lot of attention during the Iowa caucuses as well.”
High profile or not, Greater Des Moines is poised to welcome groups seeking a friendly, affordable and seamless meeting experience in its downtown and beyond.
Des Moines
More than 60 companies are headquartered in Des Moines, which is both the capital of Iowa and one of the insurance capitals of the world. Groups in town will feel at home among the city’s residents and workers.
“Nearly 80,000 people work downtown on a daily basis,” Edwards says. “It’s a lively downtown, especially for a Midwestern city.”
Groups meeting downtown will have easy access to both business and pleasurable off-session activities. For starters, the Iowa Events Center—a complex of four buildings comprising the Wells Fargo Arena; Hy-Vee Hall, with 150,000 square feet of expo space and 14,000 square feet of meeting space; Veterans Memorial Auditorium, with 100,000 square feet of floor space; and the 60,000-square-foot Polk County Convention Complex—is situated only five blocks from the Science Center of Iowa, which opened three years ago with an IMAX theater and function space for large groups in the Court Avenue District, a happening area lined with restaurants and bars.
And because Des Moines has some four miles of covered skywalk connecting everything from the Iowa Events Center to hotels, restaurants and shops, delegates meeting during the winter needn’t worry about braving the elements.
“The uniqueness of our downtown is that you never have to go outside; you might be walking eight blocks away but you’re under one roof,” Edwards says, explaining the skywalk system makes downtown Des Moines a four-season destination. “It’s 72 degrees every day downtown.”
Along with the Iowa Events Center, meetings-friendly options in Des Moines include the Iowa State Fairgrounds, which currently features a 110,000-square-foot exhibit space and is building a new agriculture center with 400,000 square feet of space due in early 2010; the Des Moines Marriott Downtown, which is currently undergoing a $13 million renovation scheduled for completion by early 2009; the Hotel Fort Des Moines; and the Renaissance Savery Hotel. According to Edwards, plans are in the works for several more hotels to join downtown’s portfolio during the next several years.
Notable group outings in Des Moines include taking in an AHL Iowa Chops hockey game at the Wells Fargo Arena; browsing the weekly farmers’ market, where hundreds of vendors sell everything from jarred fruits to arts and crafts; and window shopping in downtown’s eclectic East Village, filled with art studios, unique shops, restaurants and bars.
Metro Area Alternatives
Groups booked in Des Moines can travel between downtown and its outskirts in no more than 20 minutes, even during rush-hour traffic, Edwards says, explaining that for citywide groups, most of the metro area’s hotels participate in accommodating delegates.
“Each suburban area is unique,” Edwards adds.
Among them are the Des Moines International Airport area, featuring properties such as the Radisson Hotel Des Moines Airport and the Des Moines Airport Holiday Inn Hotel; and West Des Moines, where groups are welcome to stay at the Sheraton West Des Moines, the West Des Moines Marriott and the Hilton Garden Inn West Des Moines. West Des Moines is also home of Jordan Creek Town Center, a 1 million-square-foot entertainment and shopping complex complete with eateries such as P.F. Chang’s.
Some thrills can be found in Altoona, where the Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino—a full-service casino that runs horse races six months a year—and Adventureland amusement park are located.
Urbandale’s Living History Farms, a 500-acre living history museum that takes visitors through the history of farming, from Native American to current day, is a unique Iowa attraction.
Urbandale and Johnston, home of the Stoney Creek Inn, are next-door neighbors.
“These are bedroom communities with a strong corporate presence,” Edwards says.
Beyond the Metro Area
Ames, home of Iowa State University (ISU), is a cultural college town. Situated 35 minutes from Des Moines International Airport, its central location is a huge draw, according to Julie Weeks, director of the Ames CVB.
“We’re smack-dab in the middle of the country and drivable for about two-thirds of the nation,” she says. The newly designated Main Street Cultural District, featuring unique shops, restaurants and facilities such as the Octagon Center for the Arts, complete with classes, a gallery shop and exhibits, welcomes delegates to mingle for an afternoon.
The meetings centerpiece in Ames is the four-building Iowa State Center complex, which features a conference center.
“ISU is one of about 30 campuses in the nation with an ACCED-I [Association of Collegiate Conference & Events Directors-International] designation,” Weeks says. “It’s a one-stop shop; they can book community and university activities for groups.”
Guest accommodations in Ames include the Holiday Inn Ames Conference Center, a new Hilton Garden Inn property opening this winter and the IACC-certified Gateway Hotel & Conference Center. Additionally, two off-site attractions, Prairie Moon Winery & Vineyards and Reiman Gardens, one of Iowa’s largest public gardens, complete with a 2,500-square-foot indoor butterfly wing, also have space for group functions.
“Hickory Park Restaurant does a great barbecue for groups, and they have a great ice cream menu,” Weeks says.
In Pella, according to Jill Vandevoort, director of the Pella CVB, guests experience a “European location in small town U.S.A.”
With roots in the Netherlands, Pella is home to the largest working grain windmill, standing at 135 feet tall (flour ground here is used at bakeries in town), and many import shops featuring Dutch-themed items that you can’t find anywhere else, Vandevoort says. She adds the town also hosts unique events such as the annual Tulip Festival every May, with some 15,000 tulips in Pella’s public parks alone.
Pella, situated 35 minutes away, works with Des Moines frequently when groups booked there are looking for a day trip outside of the city.
Of course, it also hosts groups on its own. Facilities in town include the Bos Landen Golf Resort & Conference Center; the 45,000-square-foot Vermeer Global Pavilion, which has an arena, a 108-seat auditorium and classrooms; the Pella Opera House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places; and the Royal Amsterdam Hotel.
“We don’t have so many large hotels, but we do have very nice hotels for small to midsize groups,” Vandevoort says.
Farther south of Pella, Honey Creek Resort State Park on Rathbun Lake will open this month as a new retreat option for groups, offering plenty of meeting and event space, including a 4,000-square-foot ballroom, as well as an 18-hole golf course, hiking and biking trails, swimming, fishing and boating.
For More Info
Ames CVB 515.232.4032 www.amescvb.com
Greater Des Moines CVB 515.286.4960 www.seedesmoines.com
Pella CVB 641.628.2626 www.pella.org
