The famous line, “Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam,” could easily conjure up images from either Oklahoma or Kansas, although it’s the official state song of the latter, written by Brewster Higley in 1872, while he lived on the great plains of the state.
Since then, the rolling ranges of both states have inspired countless others, including association groups that regularly choose to meet amid its vast prairies and forward-thinking destinations.
Greater Oklahoma City & Tulsa: Places to Shine
If you hold an event in Oklahoma City, chances are that you’re going to see the sun. On average, the state capital enjoys 300 sunny days each year, an appealing fact for attendees who want to explore its revitalized downtown and attractions. One of the most popular, the Oklahoma City Zoo & Botanical Garden, is also an ideal special-event site, with indoor spaces for up to 280 people and outdoor spaces for up to 2,000 people.
Downtown, the Cox Convention Center is a major meetings hub with more than 1 million square feet of event space including 21 meeting rooms, 100,000 square feet of exhibit space and a 15,000-seat arena. Next door, the Myriad Botanical Garden lets groups of up to 400 people incorporate green spaces such as terraces, lawns and a conservatory into their functions.
Near the Capitol, the Oklahoma History Center welcomes group gatherings of up to 700. In the Boathouse District along the Oklahoma Riverfront, three buildings can be used for events and planners can arrange water-based team-building activities and kayak or rowing lessons. Other venues of interest include the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, with reception space for up to 1,500; the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, with banquet space for up to 600; and Metro Technology Centers’ 4,620-square-foot conference center. East of downtown, in Midwest City, the Reed Center and connected Sheraton Hotel offer a combined 36,000 square feet of event space.
In addition to Oklahoma City’s current meeting-hotel options, three new properties have increased choices for visiting groups. In Midtown, the historic Ambassador Hotel opened this spring after a $15 million renovation. Features of the Art Deco property include 54 guest rooms and event space for up to 75. Also new is the 134-room Aloft/Oklahoma City–Bricktown, which has seven meeting spaces, an outdoor pool and a two-story, 1,090-square-foot Celebrity Suite that can be used for executive functions. And north of town, the new 118-room Four Points by Sheraton/Oklahoma City–Quail Springs offers 3,000 square feet of conference space.
Twenty miles south of Oklahoma City is Norman, home to the University of Oklahoma. Its Gothic-style Memorial Union features 25,000 square feet of meeting space and can accommodate groups as large as 875. Other campus hot spots include the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, with space for up to 425, and the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, which can host up to 2,000 people. A few miles east of the university, the National Center for Employee Development has 964 guest rooms and 32,000 square feet of function space. Additionally, planners can look to the Embassy Suites/Norman, which has 50,000 square feet of event space, or the Norman Hotel, with 7,000 square feet of meeting space.
The state’s other big college town is Stillwater, home to Oklahoma State University. On its Georgian-style campus, venues that can be used for outside group events include the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center, with 14,000 square feet of space. Adjacent to campus, the Wes Watkins Center offers 35,000 square feet of conference space. Hotels include the renovated Wyndham Garden Stillwater (formerly the Stillwater Plaza Hotel & Conference Center) and the Best Western Plus Cimarron Hotel & Suites.
Tulsa touts its beautiful Art Deco heritage and its ability to attract top acts with many entertainment venues. Groups that have recently held events in town include the Oklahoma Library Association, the Southwest Section of the American Water Works Association and the Society of American Travel Writers, whose Central States Chapter chose the Hyatt Regency/Tulsa as its headquarters for a March conference.
“The Tulsa Hyatt proved an ideal choice,” said Tom Griffith, the conference chair. “Centrally located, spacious, and with an outstanding staff, the Hyatt exceeded our expectations in every respect.” Griffith also said the group benefited from the help of the Tulsa Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We faced myriad challenges organizing and executing a week-long conference filled with meetings, breakfasts, story opportunities, guest speakers and professional development sessions. Tulsa CVB Director of Sales Vanesa Masucci’s help was invaluable, and Hyatt staff helped make our meeting an unqualified success,” he said.
The 310,000-square-foot Cox Business Center is the largest facility for meetings and conferences and is just blocks from the 19,199-seat BOK Center, which hosts concerts and other big events. Nearby hotels with meeting space include the year-old Aloft/Tulsa Downtown, refashioned from the old city hall building; the DoubleTree by Hilton/Downtown, connected to the Cox Center via skybridge and offering its own meeting space; and the historic Mayo Hotel, with 10 event spaces. The Holiday Inn/Tulsa City Center and the Courtyard/Tulsa Downtown in the historic Atlas Life Building are still other choices with smaller meeting space. Near the University of Tulsa, the Campbell Hotel on Route 66 is a little gem with individually decorated guest rooms and an event center for up to 250 people.
Northwest of downtown, set on 1,000 acres of the Osage Hills, is the PostOak Lodge & Retreat, with more than 13,000 square feet of conference space spread out in various lodges. Many groups like to take advantage of team-building activities on its ropes course and zip line, and free-time fun can be had fishing, hiking, swimming or playing horseshoes and volleyball.
Forty-five miles directly north of Tulsa, in Bartlesville, is the Bartlesville Community Center. In addition to this 1,700-seat space, areas for rental include the Community Hall, which can accommodate up to 300; the Studio Theater, for up to 150; and the Lyon Gallery, for up to 130. Another architecturally notable space is the Frank Lloyd Wright–designed Price Tower Art Center, whose upper floors are now home to a 19-room inn. Groups also meet at the Tri County Technology Center Event Center, which has a dozen versatile spaces.
Do-Si-Do: Swing Around the State
In north-central Oklahoma, Enid is proud of its completely renovated Convention Hall, which recently turned the 1921 behemoth into a contemporary space with 53,000 square feet of meeting space. Attached is the new Event Center, with 33,000 square feet of floor space. There are plans for an adjacent $14 million Hilton Garden Inn. Downtown is the Enid Symphony Center, and about 85 miles west, in Woodward, a convention center with an adaptable exhibit hall serves groups as large as 1,200 or up to 110 booths.
In the south-central Oklahoma town of Duncan, the 105,000-square-foot Simmons Center is home to the Jack A. Maurer Convention Center, which can host up to 1,000 attendees and has a 750-seat theater. Another option for events is the Stephens County Fairgrounds, with nearly 90,000 square feet of space. In July, the Oklahoma Community Theatre Association held its OCTAFest, a biennial play festival, in town. “OCTA-Fest in Duncan was fabulous, with seven theater performances, four workshops and statewide networking with more than 200 theater lovers,” said the association’s Sharon Burum. All events were held at the Simmons Center theater, with “afterglow” functions at the local Wallstreet Pub and the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center, which has event space for up to 90 people. “Duncan has a vibrant shopping district and excellent restaurants,” Burum said. “It was a really great four days.”
Sulphur, 60 miles to the west, owes much of its history—and credit for its shining future—to the Chickasaw Nation. At the Chickasaw Cultural Center, the largest tribal cultural center in the nation, the 350-seat Anoli’ Theater can be used for group functions. For accommodations, two notable properties have meeting space as well: the Artesian Hotel, Casino & Spa, with three boardrooms and a 160-person ballroom, or the Chickasaw Retreat & Conference Center, a former medical facility set on 1,750 acres overlooking Arbuckle Lake that has been completely renovated into a conference facility.
Greater Wichita, Kansas: Where never is hearda Discouraging Word
Most association groups rave about their visits to Wichita, the state’s largest city, and one of its most historic. The Kansas Hospital Association, Kansas Association of Counties and Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association are just a few of the groups that have met in town over the last year.
And in February, the Society of Women Engineers held its Region I Conference in Wichita with representatives from six states. The event took place at the Wichita Marriott, which recently wrapped up a $5 million renovation. It proved to be a great choice, said Vickie Glancy Cannon, the organization’s logistics chair. “The Marriott people were wonderful to work with,” Glancy Cannon said. “We used a number of spaces, the food was really good and the parking situation was excellent. We’ll definitely be back.” Marriott has also made improvements at its other city property, the Courtyard/Wichita at Old Town.
Large venues for events include the Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center, which features nearly 200,000 square feet of space and is connected to the recently renovated Hyatt Regency/Wichita. A few blocks east is the 15,000-seat Intrust Bank Arena, which regularly hosts concerts and professional sporting events. Or check out Old Cowtown, home to more than 40 historical buildings and 9,000 square feet of meeting space. Other attractions that welcome special events include the Wichita Art Museum, with space for up to 200; Botanica Gardens, with three rooms indoors and five outdoor sites; and the Kansas Aviation Museum, which can host up to 300 people.
Hutchinson, 53 miles northwest of Wichita, features a couple of the state’s true treasures. At the Kansas Cosmosphere & Space Center, a Smithsonian-affiliated museum, small groups can congregate within the 18-person boardroom, while larger functions can be accommodated in the 110-seat domed theater or the lobby, which can host up to 300. Or take your event underground at Strataca (aka the Kansas Underground Salt Museum), where attendees descend 650 feet into the earth where rooms have been carved from a 275 million-year-old salt deposit. StrataCenter, the museum’s largest event space, can accommodate up to 250 people. More conventional meeting sites include the Ramada Hotel & Conference Center and the renovated, 2,334-seat Memorial Hall. Hutchinson Community College and the Kansas State Fairgrounds also welcome events.
Ninety miles north of Wichita, in Salina, the Salina Bicentennial Center comprises a 7,500-seat arena; an 18,000 square-foot, column-free space; and eight meeting rooms. One of the town’s most-popular attractions—the Rolling Hills Zoo—is home to a conference center that can accommodate up to 275 people. Alternately, the zoo’s restaurant and picnic area can be used for after-hours functions of up to 200. Meeting hotels in town include the Ambassador Hotel & Conference Center and the Courtyard by Marriott. A new Holiday Inn is scheduled to open on the south side of town in late February 2015.
About 20 miles to the south, tiny Lindsborg is a bit of Sweden on the Kansas prairie. Meeting spaces include the Sundstrom Conference Center, with 15,000 square feet of space on two floors, and City Hall, with available conference rooms. Lodging options can be found nearby in Salina or the town of McPherson.
Kansas City to Manhattan: Smart Sites
The Jack Reardon Convention Center is the top meeting venue in Kansas City, Kansas. With 22,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 15,000-square-foot divisible ballroom, it can host functions of up to 1,100 and is supported by the adjacent Hilton Garden Inn. Other choices in town include the Great Wolf Lodge, the Best Western Premier KC Speedway Inn & Suites, the Chateau Avalon Hotel and Cabela’s, the outdoor retailer, which offers a space that can seat up to 100 people.
Overland Park, a Kansas City suburb, is the state’s second-largest city. The primary venue is the Overland Park Convention Center, with 237,000 square feet of space and an adjacent Sheraton.
The National Speech & Debate Association Tournament, held in June at the convention center, was the largest event Overland Park had ever hosted. According to local media reports, the tournament drew more than 4,000 students, 1,500 coaches and some 2,000 judges and volunteers. “People came from all over the United States and they were uniformly complimentary about the facilities—the amenities at all the hotels, the restaurants who worked to accommodate large groups and the friendliness of the people in the community,” said the association’s Cathy Wood, who helped organize the event.
Wood said the new Prairiefire shopping and entertainment district also proved to be “the perfect place to host high school students—it was more like a street party with food carts, a DJ, movie theaters and a bowling alley,” she said. There are many group options available at Prairiefire, including the Museum at Prairiefire, associated with the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. It offers a half-dozen spaces for special events. Another large option at Prairiefire is the 17-theater Cinetopia, where presentations can run directly from a laptop to the movie screens in all theaters. Or groups might opt to gather at the 30,000-square-foot Pinstripes, a bowling and bocce-ball bistro.
Olathe, southwest of Overland Park, will gain more meeting spaces next fall with the opening of the Embassy Suites & Conference Center. Best bets in Olathe now are the Ball Conference Center, the Bell Cultural Events Center at MidAmerica Nazarene University and the Olathe Community Center. The Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm is a historical property with a Heritage Center that can be used for events of up to 150 guests.
About 40 miles west of Kansas City is Lawrence, home of the University of Kansas, which offers several meeting sites. Two of the town’s premier hotel properties make great settings for groups: the historic Eldridge Hotel, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and its sister property, the contemporary Oread, located on the north end of the university’s campus.
In Topeka, the state capital, the Kansas Expocentre has five venues, the largest of which are the 10,000-seat Landon Arena and the 44,500-square-foot Exhibition Hall. Attached to the facility is the Capitol Plaza Hotel. Groups that have recently held events at the Expocentre include the Kansas Cowboy Dressage Association, the Topeka Home Builders Association and the Great Plains Hunter Association. Other options include the Ramada Topeka Downtown Hotel & Convention Center and the Topeka Performing Arts Center.
Sixty miles west, in Manhattan, Kansas State University has plenty of space for meetings. Associations looking for a facility close to the university might try the Holiday Inn/Manhattan at the Campus or the Hilton Garden Inn/Manhattan Conference Center. Adjacent is the gold LEED–certified Flint Hills Discovery Center, a science museum that focuses on the education and preservation of the tall-grass prairielands. On the west side of town, the Four Points by Sheraton has renovated guest rooms.
Hays & Dodge City: History & Hospitality on the Western Front
Dodge City, the archetype of an Old West town, offers properties with meeting space that include the Dodge House Hotel & Convention Center, which lends the ambiance of the Old West to group functions of up to 900. In April, the TownePlace Suites by Marriott opened on the east side of town.
Major venues for events are the United Wireless Arena, where groups can use either the 20,000-square-foot arena or its 7,000-square-foot conference center; and the Western State Bank Expo Center, with 90,000 square feet of flexible indoor spaces and 1 million square feet of outdoor exhibit space.
Farther north, in Hays, the Memorial Union at Fort Hays State University is the first place to look for meeting spaces. It has 12 rooms of various sizes that can be used for group functions. Catered events can be held at the renamed Rose Garden Steak House, which has two large banquet rooms.
Appealing to all
Kansas and Oklahoma may be in the middle of the Great Plains but there’s nothing plain about their cities and towns. Western heritage, spirited universities and lauded cultural and entertainment facilities have turned these states’ destinations into exciting hubs that draw in attendees and make them feel like they’re part of the local fabric.