The pioneering spirit is alive and well in the Hawkeye and Cornhusker states. Iowa and Nebraska pull out all the stops to ensure visiting groups have everything they need to carry out their own ambitious projects. Once they’ve visited, attendees and planners alike are sure to be impressed by the emphasis these states place on creating a warm and hospitable environment.
When folks first ventured out to explore the unsettled frontier lands, they battled many bitter winters and worked hard to create what would eventually become the marvelous Midwestern states of Iowa and Nebraska. Building upon that history, cities in these states are constantly creating options for group events.
Greater Des Moines: Capital Investments
It’s all about change in Des Moines, Iowa’s capital, where the extensive hospitality infrastructure attracts a range of groups. Recent events have included the National Junior Shorthorn Show & Youth Conference, whose focus is livestock, and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, a lay organization of the Roman Catholic Church.
When the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem’s Northern Lieutenancy held its annual meeting in town in 2013, it drew some 700 attendees from eight Midwestern states. Meetings were held at the Marriott Hotel as well as at the St. Ambrose Cathedral, and Marilyn Sharp, the group’s co-chair, commented on the ease of hosting a function downtown.
“The Iowa area hosts this meeting every eight years, and for our purposes, all the venues were within walking distance of one another. The convenience of downtown is always commented upon,” Sharp said. Other cities that have hosted the annual meeting, such as Denver, St. Louis, Kansas City and Minneapolis, have warranted the necessity of hiring buses to transport members from one venue to another, she said, which means factoring extra costs and travel time into the budget and schedule. As a result, she said, “We hear from many that they look forward to coming to Des Moines.”
The Iowa Events Center, which underwent a $42 million renovation and expansion in 2012—it now offers 226,000 square feet of space—is the city’s largest site for events of all sizes. It is home to three dedicated venues: the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center, home to 50,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space; Hy-Vee Hall, which has 100,000 square feet of its own exhibit space; and the 17,000-seat Wells Fargo Arena.
Elsewhere in town, groups can gather at the State Historical Museum, which can accommodate up to 2,000 people; the central branch of the Des Moines Public Library, with rooms for up to 300 people; Drake University, where the Olmsted Center can accommodate up to 585 people; and the Temple for Performing Arts, with event space for up to 450 attendees.
Plenty is happening on the hotel scene. Most notably, the Iowa Events Center is set to gain a $120 million, 450-room hotel. Construction is expected to begin next year and finish in 2017. Current choices include the Des Moines Marriott Downtown, which recently completed renovations of its public and meeting spaces, health club and restaurant, and the landmark Renaissance Des Moines Savery Hotel, which is undergoing an $8 million face-lift. The Holiday Inn Airport & Convention Center has added nearly 12,000 square feet of event space for a new total of 34,000 square feet.
Two new downtown properties—a Residence Inn and a Hampton Inn & Suites—offer their own event space. Northwest of town, in Urbandale, the new 89-room Fairfield Inn & Suites has 2,000 square feet of meeting facilities. And in West Des Moines, the Fairfield Inn & Suites is newly renovated, and the Hilton Garden Inn, in conjunction with the Jordan Creek Crossing Event Center, offers several meeting spaces.
North of Des Moines, in Ankeny, the Courtyard by Marriott recently completed a lobby redesign project, which included the addition of the new Bistro restaurant. Also, a Homewood Suites is under construction. The 60,000-square-foot FFA Enrichment Center, part of the Des Moines Area Community College campus, welcomes groups of up to 500. About 12 miles away, in Altoona, the Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino provides 34,000 square feet of event space at its Meadows Events & Conference Center.
Ames: Time-Tested Meeting place
A wealth of meeting spaces await groups in Ames, celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. Its July 4th celebrations include fireworks, parades and live music, and in September, the Dinkey Day festival will emphasize the historic ties between the town and Iowa State University (the Dinkey was a steam engine that connected the university to downtown Ames in the 1890s). The campus is still a major attraction for visiting groups. Its Iowa State Center is home to the 2,747-seat Stephens Auditorium, the 450-seat Fisher Theater and the Scheman Building, which has 25 conference rooms and more than 10,000 square feet of indoor-outdoor event space. Nearby, the Hilton Coliseum can seat upward of 14,000 people.
There are non-campus options, too. Within walking distance is the Gateway Hotel & Conference Center, which has 16,041 square feet of indoor event space (or 24,462 square feet of total space when you include outdoor areas). Other local venues include the Prairie Moon Winery & Vineyards, with outdoor space for up to 1,500 people and indoor space for up to 300, and the Quality Inn & Suites Starlite Village Conference Center, which has nearly 10,000 square feet of usable space.
The Iowa Odyssey of the Mind, an educational, problem-solving competition, has held its state finals at the university’s Scheman Building for the past decade. “We have found that not only is the facility perfect for our event, but the convention bureau personnel and the staff at Scheman is amazing to work with,” said Alan Strohmaier, the event’s state association director. “They will staff whatever hours we require, provide whatever we need and always have a smile and friendly greeting waiting for us. Their services, their food and their personnel are all top-notch. I have run conventions in New York, Dallas, Minneapolis, Kansas City and San Francisco, and none of these places hold a candle to the Ames staff. They’re truly professional people.”
Iowa State also hosts the world finals of Odyssey of the Mind every other year, and that competition brings more than 17,000 people to Ames. “The staff and the people of Ames are equally as amazing for the international competition as they are for our state competition,” Strohmaier said.
Another event recently held at the Scheman Building was the fall conference of the Iowa Council of Teachers of Mathematics & Iowa Academy of Science-Iowa Science Teachers Section, which drew close to 600 science and math teachers, instructors and consultants. “The Ames CVB folks and Pat Dennis at the Iowa State Center were really great to work with,” said De Anna Tibben, conference chair. “The ACVB helped us get the word out to the teachers statewide by printing save-the-date cards for us at no charge, which is a great perk that really helps nonprofit groups. They also provided ‘Ames ambassadors’ to serve as helpers during the day of our event. This really helped our organizations focus on the events for our participants.”
Tibben also praised two other aspects of the venue: “The free and ample parking for our event was great! When we held our event elsewhere, the parking was always an issue. And finally, the cost of renting Scheman is what keeps us coming back to Ames. Hosting our conference at Scheman allows us to keep the professional feel of our conference at a reasonable rate. Pat and his staff, and the folks at ACVB really helped us to create a first-class event for our deserving teachers!”
Additional satisfied customers include the Iowa High School Speech Association, which held its Coaches Convention and the Large Group All-state Festival in town. “[These are] two very large events, and Ames does a great job in making those happen for us,” said Craig Ihnen, the group’s executive director. “We use the Gateway Hotel for the convention, the Iowa State Center for the All-state Festival, and many hotels across the city. The outstanding work by the Ames CVB makes sure the events go off without a hitch. They’re really miracle workers in making events happen.”
Eastern Iowa: Regrowth on the Riverside
In Cedar Rapids, stretched out along the Cedar River, you’ll find the U.S. Cellular Center, which opened last year following extensive flood damage to the existing building in 2008. It’s now back in action and better than ever, with event space for up to 10,000 guests in conjunction with the DoubleTree by Hilton/Cedar Rapids Convention Complex. Also new is the 94,000-square-foot Cedar Rapids Public Library, which opened last August with two auditoriums, the largest of which can seat up to 200 guests.
Groups that have recently gathered in town include the National Association of Counties, the American Water Works Association and the Iowa Parks & Recreation Association, which held its annual conference in April at the convention center complex with 166 delegates. “Recent major flooding may have caused individuals great apprehension about the conditions of facilities and nightlife,” said Steven Jordison, executive director of the Iowa Park & Recreation Association. “On the contrary, Cedar Rapids took this negative and did a 180, then revitalized a vital community asset.”
The National Association of Counties also utilized the convention center and Hilton for its fall board of directors meeting and Resiliency Forum, events that were attended by 180 people. “The hospitality received by all the local establishments was outstanding,” said Kim Struble, the group’s conferences and meetings director.
Some of the more frequented venues in Cedar Rapids include the Scottish Rite Masonic Center, which has space for up to 500 attendees, and A Touch of Class Banquets, which can host up to 2,000. At Kirkwood Community College, the four-diamond Hotel at Kirkwood Center has 71 guest rooms, 19,000 square feet of event space and a restaurant serviced by the college’s culinary arts students. The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library has event space for up to 400, and the historic Paramount Theatre has 1,690 seats. South of downtown, the Hawkeye Downs Speedway & Fairgrounds has a 20,000-square-foot events hall, and another 18 miles away, in Amana, groups can meet in the Amana Morton Center, which has 13,000 square feet of event space.
The University of Iowa is located in Iowa City, a growing community whose population nearly doubles to a little more than 70,000 when school is in session. On campus, the Memorial Union has 18 meeting rooms and two ballrooms and shares space with the 95-room Iowa House Hotel; the Athletics Hall of Fame can host up to 300 people; and Kinnick Stadium offers 70,585 seats.
In nearby Coralville, many visitors spend their time at the Iowa River Landing development, a 180-acre riverside area with shopping and entertainment as well as restaurants, art galleries, a spa and even 120 flavors of cupcakes at the Scratch Cupcakery. The first venue meeting planners usually look to is the Coralville Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, which has 60,000 square feet of event space. Groups that have visited recently include the Iowa Limestone Producers Association and the Iowa Library Association, which held its 2013 annual conference at the Marriott.
Eighty miles to the south on the banks of the Mississippi is Burlington, a scenic small city for meetings. Event venues include the 400-seat Capitol Theater, a historic Art Deco space that reopened two years ago after renovations, and the 3,200-seat Community Field baseball park.
Upriver is the Quad Cities region, made up of Davenport and Bettendorf on the Iowa side and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline over the border in Illinois. Major meeting venues in Davenport include the 100,000-square-foot RiverCenter, while downtown Bettendorf is home to the Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center, which has more than 24,000 square feet of space. About 70 miles farther north, the city of Dubuque has started a $16 million project that will introduce more parking and improve transportation options. Downtown, on the Mississippi Riverfront, the Grand River Center has 86,000 square feet of conference space.
In Waterloo, a little less than 100 miles to the west, the biggest event venue available to visiting organizations is the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center, which has 40,000 square feet of space and is connected to a 228-room Ramada Hotel. Two blocks away, the RiverLoop Amphitheater & Expo Plaza can host up to 1,000 people. Other venues in town include the National Cattle Congress, which can host up to 7,000 people, and Young Arena, which offers 20,000 square feet of space. Just northwest is Cedar Falls, where the Park Place Event Centre at Pipac Centre on the Lake has 24,000 square feet of event space, and the landmark Oster Regent Theatre can accommodate up to 472. For large events, the University of Northern Iowa’s UNI-Dome can seat groups of up to 22,000 people.
Northern & Western Iowa: Strong Foundations
Travel north about 100 miles from Des Moines and you’ll be heading for the city of Fort Dodge. Gatherings and tours of up to 100 people can be held at the Smeltzer House, and up to 75 guests are welcome to use the Vincent House. For larger functions, the Opera House has space for up to 450 people, and the historic Dodger Stadium can seat up to 5,000. At Iowa Central Community College, groups can rent the Career Education Building and the 1,500-seat Hodges Fieldhouse.
The Muse-Norris Conference Center at North Iowa Area Community College, to the northeast in Mason City, has an auditorium for up to 1,167 people. The North Iowa Events Center has several buildings available for use, the largest of which offers 26,400 square feet of space. Also in town is Music Man Square, which has event space for up to 500 people.
In Sioux City, 115 miles west of Fort Dodge, the Sioux City Convention Center has 75,000 square feet of conference and exhibit space. Just over the border in Nebraska, South Sioux City’s major meeting space is the Marina Inn Hotel & Conference Center, with 30,000 square feet of event space.
In Council Bluffs, 90 miles to the south, the largest event facility is the 64,000-square-foot Mid-America Center. A little more than a mile away is the Holiday Inn, which renovated its meeting space and lobby to the tune of $2 million in 2012. It is attached to the Ameristar Casino, with additional event space. River’s Edge Park, which made its debut last year, has outdoor space for groups of up to 10,000 people. At Iowa Western Community College, venues include a 27,880-square-foot athletic department. And just east of downtown, the Westfair Amphitheatre can seat up to 15,000 people.
Lincoln & Greater Omaha: prairie Power
You’ll find Nebraska’s seat of power, Lincoln, packed with the first-class meeting sites you’d expect of a state capital. Respect for its heritage is at the center of everything in this city. In fact, the crowning glory of the capitol itself is a golden dome topped with a statue of a farmer sowing grain, a reminder of the power of hard work and humble beginnings. Today, residents of Lincoln are just as likely to be found working hard to welcome association guests, perhaps at Pershing Center, which has 45,000 square feet of exhibit space, or the Grand Manse, a former federal courthouse that now welcomes up to 400 people.
Last summer, the $179 million Pinnacle Bank Arena opened as the cornerstone of the West Haymarket redevelopment project. It is home to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s basketball teams but also plays host to concerts (in its first months, it attracted quite a varied range of stars, from Michael Bublé to Jay Z). Arena features include 36 executive suites, two private lounges and general seating for 15,900. At the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, groups can meet at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, designed with a 13,595-seat arena, or at the Nebraska Champions Club, which can accommodate up to 5,000 people.
In hotel news, a new Hyatt Place property was opened last February in the Historic Haymarket District with three small meeting rooms, and The Cornhusker, a Marriott-brand property, has been undergoing a renovation of all 300 guest rooms, its restaurant and its 46,000 square feet of meeting space. And numerous hotels have undergone changes in management: the former Holiday Inn Express/Belmont is now a Baymont Inn & Suites; the Settle Inn & Suites has been rebranded as a Quality Inn & Suites; the former Oasis Inn Hotel is now the Boarders Inn & Suites; the one-time Best Western Crown Inn is now a Motel 6 property; near the airport, another Motel 6 is now the America’s Best Value Inn/Airport; and the former Lincoln Heights Hotel is now the Country Inn & Suites/Airport.
About 75 miles northwest of Lincoln is Columbus, whose largest event venue is the Ramada Columbus & River’s Edge Convention Center (recently the New World Inn). It has renovated all 140 guest rooms, and improvements to its 20,000 square feet of meeting space and the property’s exterior are scheduled for completion in December.
Omaha, Nebraska’s biggest city, hosts the annual shareholders meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the company run by famed investor Warren Buffett, who champions his hometown of Omaha as the “cradle of capitalism.” The event—as well as many others held in the city each year—takes place at the 270,000-square-foot CenturyLink Center (formerly the Qwest Center). The facility has 194,000 square feet of exhibit space, a 31,996-square-foot ballroom and an arena that can seat up to 18,300 people.
Other large meeting spaces include the 24,000-seat TD Ameritrade Park, the 122,040-square-foot Omaha Civic Auditorium and the 175,000-square-foot Holland Performing Arts Center. Delightful spaces for off-site events include Lauritzen Gardens, which has a 32,000-square-foot building for events; the Joslyn Art Museum, which is home to an impressive collection and has indoor event space for up to 1,000; and the historic Durham Museum (the one-time Union Station), with several event spaces, the largest of which can host up to 800 people.
Central & Western Nebraska: Centers for Celebrations
Many people travel to Grand Island each year for a variety of festivals, its Husker Harvest Days farm show and to attend the Nebraska State Fair, which attracted nearly 335,000 people in 2013. The fair is held at Fonner Park, whose numerous event spaces include a 2,000-seat arena, the 170,000-square-foot Eihusen Arena, the 8,000-square-foot Bosselman Conference Center, a 30,000-square-foot concourse and two multipurpose exhibition buildings. Its newest addition, the Nebraska Building, has 54,000 square feet of exhibit space and will house the Nebraska State Fair Historical Museum.
Elsewhere in town, association groups can hold meetings and receptions at the historic Grand Theater, which can accommodate up to 450 people, or at the Riverside Golf Club, with 10,500 square feet of clubhouse space for up to 800 people. The main meeting hotel in the area is the Holiday Inn/Grand Island–Midtown.
The largest event facility in Kearney, 50 miles west, is the Buffalo County Fairgrounds, which has 120,000 square feet of meeting space. Also in Kearney is the 50,000-square-foot Younes Conference Center. In the town of Gering, in western Nebraska, the Gering Civic Center has more than 26,000 square feet of space for groups.
Happening in the Heartland
Many challenges faced the settlers of Iowa and Nebraska, but the persistence paid off and now exemplifies the can-do attitudes of these states’ modern-day residents. Associations that gather at destinations throughout the region will experience the dedication and pleasure that are poured into welcoming groups and making them feel at home.