Short Takes

Museums & Attractions

• Indianapolis debuted a multiuse stadium for conventions and major sporting events in August. The $715 million Lucas Oil Stadium was designed with meeting planners in mind, boasting 183,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space. Adjacent to the exhibit space are 12 meeting rooms offering 13,000 square feet. A 31,000-square-foot plaza offers meeting planners a place for reception and pre-function activities. The opening of the stadium is the first stage of the city’s $1 billion expansion process. Stage two is leveling the RCA Dome to make room for expanding the Indiana Convention Center, which will double in size by 2010 and be connected to the new stadium via a climate-controlled skywalk. The expanded center and new stadium will have a total of 749,000 square feet of exhibit space. For more information, call 317.262.8600 or visit www.lucasoilstadium.com.

• The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) is developing an industry-first certification program in strategic meetings management. The Strategic Meetings Management Certified (SMMC) program is currently under development and is slated to launch within a year. For more information, call 703.684.0836 or visit www.nbta.org.

• The hospitality industry, including hotels, trade shows and resorts, now has an opportunity to provide guests environmentally friendly products made from sugar cane. The Sugar Cane Paper Company offers treeless paper goods, such as dinner napkins and toilet paper, now available to retailers, restaurants and restaurant suppliers in the U.S. The products are made from the recycled waste of sugar cane, or ‘bagasse-made’ goods. Sugar Cane Paper Company products are 100 percent biodegradable. They are also recyclable and can be composted. The Sugar Cane Paper Company also produces “treeless” tableware, including bagasse bowls, boxes, cups and plates for the food industry that can replace Styrofoam and other petroleum-based packaging products. Based in San Francisco, the company operates distribution centers in California, Missouri and Florida. For more information, call 888.747.6233 or visit www.thesugarcanepapercompany.com.