When affordability and authenticity are prime meetings objectives, North Dakota delivers in spades—never mind the economy. This is the America of wide open spaces and people with smiles to match.
Many groups want to explore the state’s rich frontier heritage that rustles with trailblazers like Lewis and Clark, George Custer, Sitting Bull, Theodore Roosevelt and the everyday pioneers who worked hard to establish their lives on these plains. The state brims with outdoor recreational options such as state parks, wildlife refuges and golf courses, and indoors, the cultural buffet of theater and sporting events is just as enticing.
Fargo-Moorhead
This is North Dakota’s largest metropolitan area, with plenty of infrastructure to accommodate meetings. The region is home to three universities and several technology companies, including Microsoft, so it’s populated by a highly skilled workforce, and there’s also a large medical community, all of which make the destination a vibrant meetings mecca.
Even though these cities lie on opposite sides of the Red River—Fargo in North Dakota and Moorhead in Minnesota—Cole Carley, president and CEO of the Fargo-Moorhead CVB, says the cities are united in their efforts to host and serve meetings.
"People need to know that you can get here from there," Carley says. "We sit at the intersection of two interstate highways and have daily air service to the hub cities of Minneapolis, Salt Lake, Denver—and most recently—Chicago’s O’Hare."
One of the area’s newest properties is Hilton Garden Inn, with 110 guest rooms, 14,000 square feet of meeting space and contemporary tech amenities. La Quinta Inn & Suites, with 90 guest rooms and three meeting rooms, is also new, and it has modern technological features such as wireless Internet and 32-inch LCD flat-screen TVs.
Other meetings-equipped properties include AmericInn of Fargo; AmericInn Lodge & Suites and Events Center of Moorhead; Best Western Fargo Doublewood Inn; Courtyard by Marriott Moorhead; and the adjacent Moorhead Area Conference Center.
Fargo-Moorhead is a good place to delve into the legacy left by thousands of Scandinavian immigrants who crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the 19th century to start new lives in America.
Moorhead’s Hjemkomst Center is a unique multiuse facility whose centerpiece is a replica Viking ship. The ship was built by Robert Asp in the 1970s and sailed to Norway by his family in 1982. A Stave church stands on the same grounds as a symbol of Norwegian heritage in the Red River Valley. The center is a site for several outdoor annual events, including River Splash and a Scandinavian culture festival. Groups of up to 400 may book the center’s venues.
When it’s time to relax after business, the region stands ready with an array of both outdoor and indoor attractions and activities.
"We have a great downtown area that our groups like for dining and shopping," says Stephanie Leach, the Fargo-Moorhead CVB’s director of tourism sales and event services. "It’s where historic meets contemporary in dining and entertainment spots like the historic Fargo Theater, an iconic Art Deco building from the 1920s."
"Those who want the state’s Western flavor go to Bonanzaville, USA," she adds. "It’s operated by the county historical society and has a collection of original early 20th century buildings from the era when Fargo-Moorhead really began to grow after the advent of the railroad. Groups can explore on their own or take a guided tour. ‘Pitchfork Fondue’—steak on a giant fork—is popular for those who stay for a meal."
Groups that want to get into the fresh air can get outfitted first at Scheels Fargo—190,000 square feet of sports retail. German immigrant Frederick A. Scheel used the $300 he earned from his first harvest of potatoes in 1902 as down payment on a hardware and general merchandise store in Sabin, Minn., and the company has added more stores and products through the decades. The Fargo store bills itself as the second-largest all-sports store in the world (after the Scheels store in Reno-Sparks, Nev.), and visitors enjoy the shopping as well as attractions like Scheels Wheel, the 12-car, 1953 park-style Ferris wheel that’s been refurbished with a cable drive that runs at the touch of a joystick.
Bismarck-Mandan
Midwestern hospitality and heritage are also plentiful in the central Bismarck-Mandan area—another two-city region on either side of the Missouri River. Outdoor life is big here, too, and there are plenty of parks, golf courses and recreational trails for guests to enjoy while they are in residence.
Bismarck is the state capital and offers the Bismarck Civic Center, with 80,000 square feet of function space, as its primary meetings site. Other group facilities include the Best Western Hotel Bismarck; Radisson Bismarck; Hampton Inn Bismarck; Candlewood Suites Bismarck; and Mandan’s Best Western Seven Seas Inn & Conference Center.
Sheri Grossman, director of sales for the Bismarck-Mandan CVB, says her area remains a very affordable meetings destination in any economy.
"We continue to focus our sales efforts on what we have touted all along: Bismarck-Mandan is an affordable meetings destination," she says. "The difference is that affordability is now even more important in the current economy. The low cost of meals, lodging, attractions and our convention center make us a cost-effective option."
Another big selling point, Grossman says, is that Bismarck-Mandan offers groups something different with its change of pace and relaxed, stress-free environment.
"People are impressed with our unique history and friendly people," she continues. "They always enjoy their time more than they anticipated. We have had a couple of groups that say they never meet in a city more than once, but they choose to come back here a second time."
Many meeting groups hold events in the great hall of the North Dakota capitol building, Grossman says.
"This is our 19-story skyscraper on the prairie and next door is the North Dakota Heritage Center, with its large display of Native American artifacts," she says. "We can host up to 200 at either indoor or outdoor events."
The heritage center is up for a major expansion by 2014 that will update the state’s heritage story for North Dakota’s 125th anniversary of statehood. New exhibits and interactive components will tell the story of emerging industries, including coal, gas, wind power and agriculture processing, manufacturing and technology.
The North Dakota Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center near Bismarck is also expanding with the addition of a 175-seat event center that is scheduled for completion in summer 2011. The center will give an overview of the historic expedition, with special emphasis on the time spent at Fort Mandan during the winter of 1804-1805.
Greater Grand Forks
Agriculture is the leading industry in the twin towns of Grand Forks, N.D., and East Grand Forks, Minn, and there’s plenty of activities for visitors to enjoy in this two-state Red River Valley destination. Besides a lot of famous Midwestern hospitality, guests will find abundant shopping, dining, theater and other cultural experiences.
Julie Rygg, executive director of the Greater Grand Forks CVB, says her bureau extends a menu of cost-free services to meeting groups that set the destination apart from other locations.
"We really try to give our clients the ‘big fish in a small pond’ experience in our community of 60,000," she says. "We pull out all the stops, like putting notices on our digital billboard and signs in retail, gas and hotel outlets to alert everyone about who is coming."
At the CVB’s microsite, www.meetingsgrandforks.com, planners can manage and market their meetings.
Many Grand Forks meeting guests gather at Alerus Center, the region’s premier convention and event center, featuring 160,000 square feet of function space, including a 100,000-square-foot arena and a 26,000-square-foot ballroom. A renovation currently under way is bringing an additional 3,700 square feet of space to the conference center lobby, as well as new flooring, furnishings and lighting. The adjacent Canad Inns Destination Center, with 201 guest rooms, contributes to a seamless facility featuring event space, guest rooms and suites, restaurants and North Dakota’s largest indoor waterpark (40,000 square feet).
"The Alerus gives us the ability to host smaller events up to 20,000 people," Rygg says. "We do a lot of statewide associations, and we are now marketing for more regional groups in the upper Midwest. International sporting events are another sector we are targeting."
Groups that choose Grand Forks will discover a plethora of leisure-time options that complement the business facilities package. Grand Forks Air Force Base offers tours of its operations, including military working dog demonstrations, radar approach control and the KC-135 Stratotanker. Agricultural tours of the rich surrounding farmlands are also popular, as is the Odegard Aerospace Science Center, with its pilot training center, high-altitude chamber and super computer. Meanwhile, King’s Walk Golf Course is an 18-hole Arnold Palmer signature course in a natural prairie setting that harkens to the famous links courses of Scotland and Ireland.
Minot
State associations and other business groups that favor meetings in Minot have new air access that makes the destination more attractive than ever, says Jennifer Guidinger, convention sales manager for the Minot CVB.
"The Minot International Airport welcomes new service by Delta Air Lines this month from several destinations, and in June, United will begin new service from Denver," Guidinger says. "This makes Minot less expensive and more convenient than ever."
Located next to the Canadian border, Minot has 1,600 hotel guest rooms at properties such as the Grand International Inn, with 271 rooms and 12,000 square feet of meeting space. Holiday Inn Riverside Minot offers 26,500 square feet of function space. Trade shows, rodeos, conventions and concerts find a home at the North Dakota State Fair Center, with 250,000 square feet of event space. The Minot Municipal Auditorium welcomes trade shows, sporting events and other gatherings to its 5,000-seat arena, and meeting rooms accommodating up to 400 people.
Guidinger says after-business options in Minot range from dining at places such as Homesteaders Restaurant, serving down-home fare, to tours of the Dakota Air Territory Museum, with its vintage military and civilian aircraft. Some enjoy tastings at Pointe of View Winery, established in 2002 as the state’s first winery. The Roosevelt Park Zoo is home to the largest collection of exotic animals between Minneapolis and Seattle, including 200 mammals such as kangaroos, lions and bears.
"People come to Minot in summer for bird watching—it’s a very big deal—because some species are found only in this area," Guidinger says. "Our Scandinavian heritage is also important for some, and it’s in the spotlight in early fall during Norsk Hostfest, the biggest Scandinavian fest in the country."
