Our city features more live entertainment in a single day than any other in the world, and that excitement brings visitors and delegates back time and again,” said Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) CEO Rossi Ralenkotter, celebrating 45 years with the bureau in 2018.

The first weekend of March 2018 was a great time to be a sports fan in Vegas. The line-up included three NASCAR races at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway; USA Sevens rugby at Sam Boyd Stadium; and on consecutive nights at the T-Mobile Arena, Vegas Golden Knights hockey, followed by a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), its headquarters and Performance Institute being located in Vegas.

Only in Vegas can you turn a groundbreaking into a show,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in November 2017 as ceremonial shovels hit the ground for the new $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat domed football stadium that will bring the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas in 2020.

Las Vegas means business—and it all depends on people. The big wheels are the visionaries past and present who built, and continue to build, Vegas.

After attending the annual Glass Craft & Bead Expo in 2005, Richmond, Va.-based glass and fiber artist Lura Dillard wanted a lasting memory of her “unforgettable” first visit to Las Vegas. “Purchasing dice, poker chips and other materials from local shops, I created my mosaic-ed ‘Vegas Memory’ hubcap,” Dillard said. “It inspired a series of destination-based pieces, with gallery shows and sales.” Vegas is a marketplace for ideas and commerce like no other. Inaugurated in 1994, the three-day Expo has called South Point Hotel Casino and Spa home for 13 years. 

Neighbors Omaha, Nebraska, and Council Bluffs, Iowa, home to CenturyLink Center Omaha and Mid-America Center, as well as a great variety of group-friendly hotels, also offer an intriguing lineup of venues for off-site receptions and banquets.

With its varied landscapes that range from mountains to lakes to rivers, Kentucky is a rich source of never-ending excitement for groups looking to enjoy the great outdoors.

Brandon Robinson, CAE is executive director with the Virginia Society of Association Executives (VSAE) in Richmond, Virginia. The group recently held its 2018 Annual Conference in Norfolk.

Encompassing the nine cities and six counties of the Hampton Roads region on southeastern Virginia’s Lower Peninsula, Coast Virginia opened the book on the American experience with the settlement of Jamestown in 1607 and has contributed major chapters ever since. At the forefront of inspiration and discovery, from land and sea to outer space, the area’s dynamic destinations inspire expanded thinking and new directions.

Planners have a variety of teambuilding experiences to choose from in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, each of which can cater to a group’s makeup and interests.