Like Superman soaring through the air, the “Biggest Little City” is showing its strong suit and aiming to bring in some action on the group front with a revitalized riverfront area, updated lodging and an expanded economic base.
Reno loves planners, and there are plenty of reasons for planners to love Reno, so if you haven’t looked at Reno lately, it’s worth sliding on a pair of X-ray vision specs and checking out the city.
“There was a lot of development over the last five years, but some of it was going unnoticed, so we launched an aggressive campaign to bring in more visitors,” says John Leinen, vice president of sales with Visit Reno-Tahoe. “Because of the casinos, we’re often mixed up with Vegas. But we’re definitely not Vegas.”
Nestled in a high desert valley at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Reno has a different climate than Vegas (it doesn’t get as hot in the summer) and accessibility to a more diverse array of outdoor adventures.
Saving the Meetings Day
Reno is a lively city, and the community and visiting groups thrive off of each other’s energy. The Reno-Sparks CVA realizes the importance of drawing in new organizations and recently launched a Super Hero program, designed to prompt local leaders and executives to bring their organizations’ meetings back home to Reno.
This keeps with the CVA’s tradition of creating unique programs to catch the attention of event planners.
The classic Come See, Fly Free program provides complimentary round-trip airfare for planners coming to Reno on site visits, and Leinen reports that the 70 percent of planners that participate and visit Reno end up booking business with the CVA.
The CVA also recently launched a spin-off of the program called Good Value, Good Values, a tiered system to encourage planner visits and qualified RFP submission while simultaneously giving back to charity.
Lienen attributes Reno’s popularity with groups to its solid meetings offerings combined with a unique ownership structure; convention venues owned and operated by the CVA, along with all of the independent properties in town, create an atmosphere of ease and flexibility.
The Reno-Sparks Convention Center offers five exhibit halls, a 30,000-square-foot ballroom and 53 meeting rooms, and the Reno Events Center can seat up to 7,000 attendees. PageBreak
Innovation & Development
Amidst the recent excitement downtown, Reno has also expanded beyond the gambling and tourism industries as the city’s major sources of revenue, although the casinos are still prime group venues and economic drivers.
“Many of our major players, properties like Peppermill and Silver Legacy, have completed upgrades within the last three years or so, so they are still fresh, clean and contemporary,” Leinen says.
The Atlantis Casino Resort, with more than 50,000 square feet of function space, is also keeping up to speed enhancement-wise with the recent completion of a $100 million expansion and a new food waste management program that diverted 1,500 yards of food waste from landfills in 2012.
Additional casino properties include Harrah’s Reno, Siena Hotel, Spa Casino and Grand Sierra Resort, with a 28,000-square-foot conference center, 11,000 square feet of meeting space and 200,000 square feet of meeting space, respectively.
According to Leinen, Apple has plans to build a data center containing its iCloud and iTunes services, which will add $1 billion in investment and bring new jobs to the region. About 20 miles from downtown, the Reno Technology Park will house the large new campus.
As another incentive for planners, the CVA provides a free, customizable convention app for groups bringing in more than 1,000 room nights, and tech companies have started to move into town.
Meet Me at the River
When Reno was originally founded in the 1800s, it was located near the very first bridge to cross the Truckee River, and the waterway was a center of life. However, as casinos sprouted up and crowds thronged the streets, everyone forgot about the Truckee River splashing and winding its way through downtown. But as the city branches out, it’s also returning to its roots with the revitalization of the waterfront area.
The opening of the Truckee River Whitewater Park in 2003 was a huge boost, and with new nearby dining options, it has once again become a desirable destination.
The aquatic park welcomes kayaks, canoes, rafts and inner tubes and is home to 11 pools for kayakers and a kayak race course. The course is fun for competitive professionals and beginning water enthusiasts alike, with deep pools and 7,000 tons of smooth-top rocks and boulders installed along the half-mile long course. The waterpark plays host to the annual Reno River Festival each summer.
Groups can spectate from the shore as daredevils splash below, or take advantage of the nearby amphitheater and grassy spaces for picnics and outdoor receptions. PageBreak
Get Out of Town
Reno’s twin city of Sparks offers its own lodging and entertainment options, including the Resort at Red Hawk and the Nugget Resort and Casino.
A former city redevelopment project, the tree-lined Victorian Square in central Sparks can be used as a large outdoor special events plaza. The square stages the annual six-day Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off festival, which awards a top prize of more than $7,000.
Thirty miles south of Reno is Carson City, home to several historic venues for groups looking to learn about Nevada’s history and explore the state capital.
The Nevada State Railroad Museum preserves the Silver State’s captivating railroading heritage, with exhibits including locomotives and cars from the Virginia & Truckee Railroad. To continue riding the rails, groups can take a trip along the restored Sisters in History route on a steam train, a 90-minute trip each way that runs from Carson City to Virginia City on the weekends.
In downtown Carson City, the Brewery Arts Center, a local hub of creative energy with classes, an artisan store and a bistro, offers a number of rental venues, from the historic grand ballroom to a blackbox theater, and the “Divine Nine” golf courses surrounding the city are top fairways.
An hour’s drive from Reno, or a short train ride from Carson City, Virginia City is a former mining boomtown that still echoes of the era with saloons, wooden sidewalks and stagecoach rides. Groups can visit the National Historic Landmark for an afternoon or spend the night in one of the small lodging options.
Nearby Lake Tahoe is a major perk to meeting in the Reno area. With luxury resorts surrounded by pristine ski slopes in the winter and hiking and mountain biking trails in the summer, groups love to venture to the lake, whether they’re seeking a team-building adventure or a nice meal with views of the legendary crystal blue waters.
