Stretching up through the Texas Panhandle and Northern Plains and out to the westernmost tip of the state, the central and western portions of Texas demonstrate that bigger is not always better in Texas.
Vibrant small to midsize metros promote their interstate accessibility, ease in getting around and cost savings over larger cities. Almost all have primary convention facilities in rejuvenating downtowns, and branded hotels continue to sprout up in easily reached burgeoning outskirts, substantially increasing corporate meeting options and providing needed rooms for their strong sports markets and sell-out shows, festivals and cultural events.
Abilene
Promoted as the “Friendly Frontier,” Abilene sits between Fort Worth and Midland and preserves its Western traditions.
“We are very hospitable. We’re centrally located with four major highways, a midsize town with a big sports market and something for everyone and a hub city with 117,000 people and growing,” says Jennilee Latimer, CVB convention sales director at the Abilene CVB.
The Abilene Civic Center accommodates groups of up to 1,800 and another major venue, the Taylor County Expo Center, is the site of the Western Heritage Classic Ranch Rodeo in May and the West Texas Fair & Rodeo in September.
Downtown boasts Frontier Texas, a 3-year-old attraction that brings frontier history to life, and the Grace Museum.
Many of the destination’s 30,000 rooms in 30-plus hotels are concentrated along a freeway that loops the city, part of which is Interstate 20 in the north, where room inventory has been growing.
The 123-room Hilton Garden Inn Abilene, with 3,000 square feet of meeting space, opened last September less than a third of a mile from the MCM Elegante Suites, the city’s largest hotel meeting space, with 12,000 square feet.
Several other properties with meeting space have opened: a 73-room Comfort Inn, a 64-room Wingate by Wyndham, the 68-suite Comfort Suites University and the 117-suite Residence Inn Abilene.
Wichita Falls
Halfway between Dallas-Fort Worth and Oklahoma City is Wichita Falls, which promotes itself as a city of culture, events and music.
“We have a history of oil and cowboys, a great location, reasonable prices and free parking, lots of cultural activities and more than 50 festivals a year,” says Mary Haskin, convention sales manager at the Wichita Falls CVB. “Casinos 20 minutes away in Oklahoma are also a big draw for us, and we have a great new golf course and a new softball complex.”
Downtown’s MPEC (Wichita Falls Multi-Purpose Event Center) handles up to 2,000 delegates, and within walking distance or a short drive are 2,000 hotel rooms.
Two blocks from MPEC, Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel has an additional 10,000 square feet of meeting space, and two miles away, the Inn by the Falls delivers 6,000 square feet of event space. The Kemp Center for the Arts and the River Bend Nature Center are among the notable attractions with venue space.
Meeting space was enhanced with the recent opening of the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Wichita Falls. This summer, it is slated to unveil its Wellington Conference Center, with a 4,600-square-foot ballroom, two boardrooms and other function space.
Also slated to open by this summer is the Courtyard by Marriott Wichita Falls, with two meeting rooms.
Amarillo
“Step into the Real Texas” is the slogan of Amarillo, the Panhandle’s largest city, with a population approaching 180,000. Intersected by interstates 27 and 40, and including parts of historic Route 66, it is halfway between Albuquerque and Oklahoma City and has more than 2,000 committable hotel rooms within a 10-minute drive of downtown.
According to Jason Harrison, director of convention sales at the Amarillo Convention and Visitor Council, another tag—“Meet Us in the Middle without Compromise”—was launched last year. The CVC also kicked off 2009 with a new website with an enhanced meeting planner and RFP section.
“We are well positioned for regional meetings,” he says. “Our rates are significantly less than larger markets. We have three airlines flying in and we’re easy to get to,” he says.
Showcasing professional hockey and indoor football, the 340,000-square-foot Amarillo Civic Center also has a variety of function space for large group events.
Across the street, The Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts stages symphony, opera and ballet.
South of town, Palo Duro Canyon State Park is the site of “Texas Live,” a show held each June through August.
Top attractions that double as off-site venues include the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum, the Kwahadi Museum of the American Indian, the Discovery Center and the Amarillo Botanical Garden.
Meetings-ready hotels include the Ambassador and the Holiday Inn Amarillo.
Two recent newcomers also have meeting space: the Hilton Garden Inn Amarillo and the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Amarillo South.
Lubbock
Two hours south of Amarillo and surrounded by five major highways, Lubbock, incorporated as a city in 1909, turned 100 on March 28, wrapping up a year of centennial celebrations with the star-studded Lubbock Legends Concert attended by a reported 8,000 people at Texas Tech’s United Spirit Arena.
The city is known as Buddy Holly’s hometown and for its wineries, and groups can hold events at attractions such as the Buddy Holly Center in the heart of downtown’s Depot Entertainment District, the American Wind Power Center and the Science Spectrum & Omni Theater.
Downtown’s 300,000-square-foot Lubbock Memorial Civic Center is a major gathering venue, while Texas Tech also has the Jones AT&T Stadium, home of Red Raider’s football, and the City Bank Auditorium & Coliseum.
Among the city’s meetings friendly properties are Holiday Inn Park Plaza, Holiday Inn Hotel & Towers and Lubbock Regency.
In July, the city will unveil its largest meetings property: the 304-room Overton Hotel & Conference Center, with 47,000 square feet of meeting space.
“The reception has been tremendous,” says Hunter Carmichael, general manager of the new hotel. “Meeting planners across the state and region are excited to have a new upscale hotel and conference center not only in Lubbock but in West Texas as a whole.”
In November, the Hawthorn Suites Lubbock opened with nearly 2,000 square feet of meeting space.
Midland
Halfway between Fort Worth and El Paso is Midland.
Served by three carriers, Midland International Airport is headquarters of the Commemorative Air Force, which hosts a fall vintage warplane air show, is home to the American Airpower Heritage Museum and has rental sites that include a hangar holding 1,200 people.
Midland, along with nearby Odessa, can claim that “both George Bushes lived here.” Midland visitors can tour the George W. Bush Childhood Home.
“We pride ourselves on our service and hospitality,” says Becca Saunders, convention sales manager for the Midland CVB. “We try to think out of the box and have a red carpet program for groups. Our downtown has been revitalizing and has lots of new restaurants.”
Downtown’s Midland Center has plenty of function space, and across from the center, the Hilton Midland Plaza has 18,000 square feet of meeting space. The city’s other major meetings hotel, the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center, has 15,000 square feet of meeting space.
Two meetings-friendly hotels opened last fall on either side of Midland’s Scharbauer Sports Complex: the Courtyard Midland Odessa and the Residence Inn Midland.
Delegates can take in attractions like the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum and the Museum of the Southwest, which has a planetarium that will reopen this fall after a renovation and expansion. The CVB can also arrange pre- and post-meeting tours of Big Bend National Park.
Odessa
Odessa markets itself with the tagline “The Right Place in Texas.”
“We have the country’s second-largest meteor crater, fairs and Shakespeare festivals, antique stores and historical homes,” says Linda Sweatt, director of the Odessa CVB.
Odessa boasts the Presidential Museum and Leadership Library, which has an early George H.W. Bush Odessa home rented before the family moved to Midland.
Attractions that can be used for off-site events include the Globe Theatre, a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, and the Ann Hathaway Cottage.
Odessa’s primary group venue is the Ector County Coliseum & Exhibition Center.
Top meetings hotels include the MCM Grande Hotel & Fundome, MCM Elegante, Best Western Garden Oasis and a Quality Inn and Suites.
Meanwhile, a Comfort Inn & Suites with meeting space recently opened near the University of Texas Odessa, and the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Odessa will open with 1,440 square feet of meeting space in May.
El Paso
Surrounded by the Franklin Mountains, El Paso sits across the Rio Grande from Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. It is home to the Fort Bliss army installation, where a multiyear expansion has helped the city’s economy grow.
“We have 400 years of history, a blending of cultures and the dry heat of the Chihuahuan Desert, and the nearest casino is only 10 minutes away in New Mexico,” says Pifas Silva, communications manager at the El Paso CVB. “We are very different from other parts of Texas and provide a different experience for meeting delegates.”
A city with 3,000 committable rooms and an international airport with more than 80 daily flights, the city is home to the El Paso Convention & Performing Arts Centers.
Across the street, the Camino Real Hotel has an additional 36,000 square feet of meeting space, and other meetings hotels include the Hilton El Paso Airport, the El Paso Marriott and the Embassy Suites.
A block from the convention center is the Museum District, where delegates can take in the El Paso Museum of Art, the Insights El Paso Science Museum and the El Paso Museum of History.
The big news is the Downtown 2015 Plan, a downtown revitalization project. Projects under way include the $6 million renovation of the convention center plaza, slated for completion in spring 2010; the construction of a new federal courthouse and the restoration of several buildings. The newly opened, meetings-ready Doubletree El Paso Downtown/City Center is a conversion of the International Building.
“We are really excited,” Silva says. “The plaza will become more pedestrian-friendly. Revitalization will give us an entertainment district behind the convention center. And together with the Camino Real, the Doubletree gives us two major hotels close to the convention center.”
For More Info
Abilene CVB 325.676.2556 www.abilenevisitors.com
Amarillo Convention and Visitor Council 806.374.1497
Visitor Council El Paso CVB www.visitamarillotx.com
El Paso CVB 915.534.0601 www.visitelpaso.com
Lubbock CVB 806.747.5232 www.visitlubbock.org
Midland CVB 432.683.3381 www.visitmidlandtx.com
Odessa CVB 432.333.7871 www.odessacvb.com
Wichita Falls CVB 940.716.5500 www.wichitafalls.org
