Indianapolis is a resilient, one-of-a-kind city. While metros around the country have struggled during the past few years, the "Circle City" has flourished, introducing several new properties, specifically in its convention district.
"It is almost as if a planner planned the city of Indianapolis," says Michelle Travis, vice president of sales for the Indianapolis CVA.
The city’s downtown core is anchored by the Indiana Convention Center and connected to a variety of hotels and attractions via a covered, climate-controlled skywalk.
"When planners come in for the first time, their biggest surprise is how connected the city is," Travis says. "On one side of the convention center, we have Lucas Oil Stadium and on the other side there are several hotels. It is very direct and easy to navigate for the meeting attendee."
For large-scale meetings, the city is about to become even more attractive. The Indiana Convention Center is slated to unveil a massive expansion early next year that will propel the metro from the country’s 32nd-largest convention city to its 16th-largest convention city.
"The expansion is really going to be a great thing for us," Travis says. "We will not only be able to host our current clients, but we will be able to host the larger groups that may have not considered Indianapolis in the past."
Upon completion, the expanded convention center will be connected to the new Lucas Oil Stadium (opened in August 2008 in place of the demolished RCA Dome), home to the Indianapolis Colts NFL team. After the expansion, the center will offer 71 meeting rooms and 566,600 square feet of event space. The stadium has 183,000 square feet of space that groups can also utilize.
In addition to the convention center expansion, downtown Indianapolis will welcome a new JW Marriott in February as part of the $450 million Marriott Place complex. The complex includes five Marriott-branded hotels, all connected to the convention center via the skywalk, with a total of 2,200 guest units.
Additional hotels in the downtown core include the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis, Omni Severin Hotel, Hilton Indianapolis Hotel & Suites, Crowne Plaza Hotel Indianapolis Downtown at Historic Union Station, Sheraton Indianapolis City Centre Hotel, Westin Indianapolis and Conrad Indianapolis.
Aside from the convention center expansion, the city is also preparing for the Super Bowl. The big game comes to Indianapolis in 2012 and with it, some major city improvements.
"We are recreating Georgia Street in downtown," Travis says. "Right now we are working on making it into a pedestrian mall and modeling it after La Rambla, a famous pedestrian street in Barcelona, Spain. The street will be heated from underground and be 70 degrees all year long, so there won’t be any problems with snow and ice. There will be cafes and kiosks and retail along the street. It will be completed for the Super Bowl."
Travis says the city is thrilled to be hosting the Super Bowl.
"We have the Final Four here on rotation, and every time I see what the city does during a major event, it makes me proud to be here," she says. "It is so alive and vibrant. Then, the morning after the event it looks like nothing happened the night before. We know how to handle big events."
According to Travis, Indianapolis primarily hosts association groups of up to 9,000 peak room nights, but she says the CVA is looking to diversify its meetings business.
"We are also interested in bringing in medical and life science groups as well," she says. "We have a strong life science organization base in the state of Indiana, and I think when the convention center expansion opens, it will attract more groups in that sector."
Beyond the meeting room, there are numerous activities to entertain meeting guests. Meridian Street, filled with shops and restaurants and conveniently located near the convention center, is a good place to start. Meridian runs right into Monument Circle, where the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument stands. Surrounded by a European-style traffic circle and plaza, the monument was completed in 1901 and commemorates those who served in the Civil War.
Other top draws include the NCAA Hall of Champions and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, both of which are available for off-site events.
Meanwhile, restaurants, shopping and nightlife are plentiful.
"The city really comes alive at night," Travis says. "We have a strong residence base in downtown Indianapolis, which means we have great restaurants, a great downtown mall [Circle Centre Mall] and an excellent zoo."
Two popular restaurants are Mesh and The Rathskeller.
"Mesh is owned by a local restaurant group, and they have a great outdoor area with a fixed stone fireplace where a lot of groups like to hold private functions," Travis says. "[The Rathskeller] has a big beer garden and indoor space as well. It is a lot of fun," she says.
Indianapolis Environs
For groups that prefer to meet in a suburban location, there are plenty of options outside Indianapolis, starting with Carmel.
Located just 20 minutes north of the city in Hamilton County, Carmel offers meeting space at the 263-room Renaissance Indianapolis North Hotel (opened in 2008) and the Doubletree Guest Suites Indianapolis/Carmel.
Just east of Carmel in Fishers, groups can relax at The Frederick-Talbott Inn, a quaint bed-and-breakfast with meeting space for up to 25 people.
Down on the south side of Indianapolis, groups have a wide variety of options near the Indianapolis International Airport, which opened a new terminal in 2008.
Hotels near the airport include Hyatt Place Indianapolis, Radisson Hotel Indianapolis Airport, Wyndham Indianapolis West and Crowne Plaza Indianapolis Airport.
Katie Morell is a Chicago-based freelance writer and former Meetings Media editor.
