While Kansas enjoys a reputation as the traditional heart of the Midwest, it’s impossible to pin the state down with a stereotype; from Wichita’s aviation industry and Kansas City’s family-friendly entertainment to Topeka’s prairie history and Dodge City’s Wild West heritage, planners will find new and different experiences in each destination.
Topeka
Kansas’ capital city is a natural fit for government, religious and association meetings, but one growing market has the city by the tail: dog shows.
The dog club market has been really good to us in the past few years,” says Linda Briden, vice president of sales for Visit Topeka. “Our local hotels are very dog-friendly and the Kansas Expocentre makes a perfect venue for national specialty shows.”
Topeka can handle a variety of group sizes, Briden says, from midsize conferences from 250 to 400 attendees all the way up to 7,000 delegates in the Expocentre.
The city also features a number of intriguing off-site venues, including the Great Overland Station, a restored Union Pacific Railroad station with meeting space and a catering kitchen. The Woodward Inn, a striking 1920s Tudor-style mansion, offers tours as well as reception space for up to 250 inside, or 500 attendees utilizing both indoor and garden spaces.
In addition to the Kansas Expocentre, the city offers meetings-ready properties such as the Capitol Plaza Hotel, Holiday Inn-Holidome, Topeka Ramada and the new Hampton Inn Topeka. Also available is the Prairie Band Hotel and Casino, located a short drive away.
Wichita
There’s a lot of history on the ground in Wichita, but all eyes are on the skies. The city, home to McConnell Air Force Base and a thriving aviation industry, is known as the “Air Capital of the World.” That fame also influences the city’s target groups, according to Maureen Hofrenning, vice president of sales, services & strategic planning for the Greater Wichita CVB.
“We want to bring in meetings and conventions that have local appeal, and that usually falls into aviation, agricultural and medical associations,” she says. “We really focus on aviation, and we attract a lot of government meetings as well.”
The ideal group size for the area is 800 to 1,000 delegates, although the city has handled conventions of up to 7,000, she says.
New developments in Wichita include an upcoming renovation of the historic 1922 Broadview Hotel, which will close this August and reopen in spring 2010 as a Drury Plaza property. Also, the Hyatt Regency Wichita wrapped up a renovation this year, replacing two restaurants with a ballroom and the new Harvest Kitchen, an eco-friendly restaurant based on the farm-to-table concept of using fresh local produce. Three hotels were also reflagged this year: The former Residence Inn is now the Hawthorn Suites East, the Wichita Airport Hotel became a La Quinta Inn & Suites, and the former Four Points by Sheraton is now a Clarion Inn & Suites.
Other meetings-friendly favorites include Hilton Wichita Airport Executive Conference Center, with 22,000 square feet of function space; Marriott Wichita; and Grand Prairie Hotel and Convention Center in nearby Hutchinson.
The city’s Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center sets the stage for large gatherings.
Meanwhile, planners can opt for off-site venues such as the Kansas Aviation Museum, the Old Cowtown Museum and the MidAmerica Indian Center.
Salina
Salina and the Smoky Hills region offer a tasty mix of history and agricultural attractions. Groups can enjoy buffalo farm tours and bison jerky at Smoky Hill Bison Company, then top it off with a tour and a meal at the Smoky Hill Vineyards and Winery; both feature event space for meetings or receptions.
Other unique meeting facilities include the Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure and the Salina Art Center and Cinema.
The main conference facility in the area is the Salina Bicentennial Center, which boasts a 21,000-square-foot arena, more than 18,000 square feet in Heritage Hall and eight meeting rooms.
Additional meetings options include the Holiday Inn Holidome and the Webster Conference Center, with lodging, team-building options and event space.
Kansas City
Just across the river from its larger brother in Missouri, Kansas City, Kan., and the greater Wyandotte County area are hot spots for entertainment, from the fast fun of NASCAR races at Kansas Speedway to historical treats like taking tea at the Strawberry Hill Museum.
The biggest development making a splash in Kansas City is Schlitterbahn Vacation Village, currently under construction. Opening this summer will be the initial Schlitterbahn Water Resort, and phase one, slated for completion by summer 2011, will include 1,500 lodging rooms plus 750,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. Once completed, the entire development will feature a Riverwalk; a shopping and entertainment district; an indoor, climate-controlled area; and more than four miles of connected waterways.
Off-site venues are only limited by a planner’s imagination. They can hold a banquet in the outdoorsman’s paradise of Cabela’s, the adventure supply superstore; thrill attendees with a conference tournament and meetings at Painted Hills Golf Course; or plan a reception at Great Wolf Lodge, a charming facility with 3,000 square feet of meeting space.
Major meetings options include the Hilton Garden Inn and Jack Reardon Convention Center, the Best Western Inn and Conference Center, and the Wyandotte County Fairgrounds.
Overland Park
While Overland Park—incorporated in 1960—is a very young city by anyone’s standards, the area has come a long way in a very short time with stunning, event-friendly attractions like the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, which features walking trails and waterfalls, and the Nerman Museum, the largest contemporary art museum in the Midwest.
Two new developments are in the works for the city. The 96-acre Corbin Park is a 1 million-square-foot upscale shopping destination that opened following the completion of the first phase of construction in November. Prairiefire at Lionsgate, scheduled to open by summer 2010, will combine retail, shopping, lodging, dining and residential living. Developers of the project are also working with New York City’s American Museum of Natural History to open a satellite facility at the site as well.
“We can handle groups of all sizes, but our ideal size is 400 to 500 rooms on peak,” says Joe Novak, vice president of sales for the Overland Park CVB.
Meeting facilities include the Overland Park Convention Center, with 237,000 square feet of meeting space; the Regnier Center for Business and Technology; and the International Trade Center.
The newly renovated Overland Park Marriott, Doubletree Hotel Overland Park at Corporate Woods, Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Convention Center and Sheraton Overland Park Hotel are among the city’s meetings hotels.
Lawrence
Home to a rich pre-Civil War heritage and the University of Kansas, Lawrence is a vibrant college town with an intriguing past; located between Kansas City and Topeka, it also makes a perfect fit for planners who enjoy local color, both on the canvas and in the history books.
“Having the University of Kansas campus gives the city a youthfulness that’s contagious and an artistic bent that’s definitely inspiring to meeting groups,” says Anne Dillion, meetings marketing manager for the Lawrence CVB.
Regional groups ranging from 200 to 1,000 attendees suit this town best, and the campus also offers a long list of meeting venues, from the Dole Institute of Politics, a facility housing the papers and memorabilia from Sen. Bob Dole’s career, to the Spencer Museum of art, noted as one of the nation’s top 10 college art museums.
Another property under construction and slated to open in January 2010 is the Oread Inn, a 110-room hotel that will have multiple meeting facilities.
Off-site venues are also plentiful in Lawrence. Top picks include the Free State Brewing Company and Abe & Jake’s Landing, a former 1890s barbwire factory converted into an elegant event location.
Primary meetings properties include the Holiday Inn Holidome Convention Center, the Eldridge Hotel and SpringHill Suites by Marriott Lawrence.
Manhattan
Billing itself as the Little Apple, Manhattan is what its New York City namesake would be if it moved to the country and relaxed. Home to Kansas State University, the Manhattan area is filled with galleries, theaters, restaurants and irresistible attractions like the Oz Museum, dedicated to the L. Frank Baum classic.
Off-site venues include the Kistler Beach Museum of Art and the Manhattan Arts Center.
Meanwhile, the city’s Union Hall has 250,000 square feet of function space, and meetings hotels include the Holiday Inn Manhattan at the Campus and the Clarion Hotel Manhattan.
Just a short drive away is the Courtyard by Marriott Junction City and the adjacent Geary County Convention Center.
Dodge City
Move over Wyatt Earp and Buffalo Bill because the Old West is making room for new development in Dodge City. Both the new, as-yet-unnamed Dodge City Special Events Center and the Boot Hill Casino Resort broke ground in December. The casino is slated to open by December 2009 with 40,000 square feet of gaming space, four restaurants, convention space and a 125-unit hotel. The events center, located across the street, is expected to open in summer 2010.
The Boot Hill Casino project is the only one of its kind moving forward currently in the state, according to Jan Stevens, director of the Dodge City CVB.
“It will affect us in a very positive way,” she says. “It will mean a lot to this whole area.
Currently, the town’s ideal group size is 200 attendees, but once the events center and casino come on-line, Stevens expects to handle groups of up to 1,000.
Later this year, the Dodge House Hotel and Convention Center plans to finish a renovation, and a new Hampton Inn is scheduled to open.
Off-site venues include the Boot Hill Museum, offering Wild West reenactments, and the Depot Theater Company.
For More Info
Dodge City CVB 620.225.8186 www.visitdodgecity.org
Greater Hutchinson CVB 620.662.3391 www.visithutch.com
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 785.856.5282 www.visitlawrence.com
Manhattan CVB 785.776.8829 www.manhattancvb.org
Overland Park CVB 913.491.0123 www.opcvb.org
Salina Area COC 785.827.930 1www.salinakansas.org
Topeka CVB 785.234.1030 www.visittopeka.travel
