Meeting News - December 17, 2007 - (Page 32)

Destination Insider: Minneapolis & St. Paul Edited by William Ng william.ng@nielsen.com Twin Cities Hotels Firm Up, Change Up By the end of 2008, a number of hotels—many of them upmarket—and nearly 1,000 hotel rooms will be added to the downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul inventories, as other meetings hotels in the metro area renovate and change ﬂags. The moves should give groups some fresh meetings options. Restaurant 11, opened in June and features regional specialties such as wild rice soup. The latter has been rebranded as the 251-room Hilton Garden Inn, and $10 million has been spent on renovations and new features, such as a lobby ﬁreplace and the American Grill restaurant. A topto-bottom guest room renovation included ﬂat TVs, Herman Miller chairs, and wireless Internet access. more pedestrian skyways, and work on downtown streets to ease trafﬁc and provide additional paths for pedestrians and bikers. Reconstruction of the I-35W bridge is also under way, with a new $234-million span slated to be ﬁnished by the end of 2008. Swinging Into Action Minneapolis moves on transport works Getting around Minneapolis will become easier for attendees, as the city has officially launched its $3-billion Transportation Action Plan for improving logistical infrastructure over the next 10 years. Construction began in November on a $320million light rail expansion project that is slated to ﬁnish in 2010. Under proposal is another, $920million project that would begin after the ﬁrst and stretch the rail network 11 miles further between downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul by 2014. Meanwhile, the “20/20 Vision” plan, which focuses on meeting air travel demands of the region through 2020, includes several projects at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. As part of that plan, the Humphrey Terminal will be expanded to 22 gates, doubling its current size; Concourse C will be converted into a regional jet terminal; and the new Concourse H will be built. Other components of the transportation overhaul include a new downtown hybrid shuttle bus system, Group Options Fill St. Paul’s Como Zoo The Como Zoo and Marjorie McNeely Conservatory expects its new Tropical Encounter attraction to land more meetings and special events, as two of the ﬁve classrooms in the adjacent visitors center overlook the new feature. On private tours, an expert takes guests through the Central and South American rainforest exhibits, which include encounters with freshwater stingrays, giant turtles, free-roaming birds, an anaconda, and a tree sloth. Planners can reserve the Tropical Encounter courtyard area for a reception of up to 500 people. Bridging the Gap: Demand spurs addition of 1,000 hotel rooms in Minneapolis-St. Paul. New Stadium for Twins Construction began in August on a new Minnesota Twins stadium, expected to open in 2010. The openair, natural-grass ballpark will feature sweeping views of the downtown skyline, regionally inspired design and landscaping,“knotholes” that allow fans to catch views of the game without buying a ticket, and a variety of meeting and special event spaces. No space details were available at press time. In May, the 214-room Westin Minneapolis opened with 7,800 sf of meeting space, while the historic Depot, a 225-room property located in the booming Riverfront district, changed from a Marriott Courtyard to a Renaissance ﬂag. Then, this fall, the 583-room Minneapolis Marriott City Center unveiled a $25-million renovation of its main entrance, lobby, restaurant, guest rooms, and lounge. Three new Starwood properties are arriving on Minneapolis’ scene. The 136-room Ivy Hotel + Residences opens this month, near the Minneapolis Convention Center and Orchestra Hall, and the 229room W Minneapolis and 155-room aloft Minneapolis are set to open next August. A month later, the $100-million, 224-room Hotel Minneapolis will debut in the century-old Midland Bank Building. Following their sale to New York-based Trinity Hotel Investors Inc. last spring, St. Paul’s Radisson Riverfront Hotel and Radisson City Center Hotel have rebranded and undergone renovations. The former is now the 479-room Crowne Plaza Hotel St. Paul-Riverfront, having spent $4.5 million to renovate its lobby, restaurant, and function space. The property’s new, street-level dining option, 32 MeetingNews December 17, 2007 Event Report Alpha Choice for Fraternity Group When Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity decided to hold its annual convention in Minneapolis last July, the move was a departure for the organization, which had traditionally staged the gathering in large convention cities like Atlanta, Chicago, and Philadelphia. “We had our reservations but quickly realized Minneapolis is a great convention city,” said Richard Lee Snow, executive director/COO of the Philadelphia-based group, one of the world’s oldest African-American organizations. A key point for the 7,500-attendee group was Minneapolis’ physical setup, Snow said.“The city is very convenient and has a vibrant downtown.”Most of the business sessions and workshops were held at the Minneapolis Convention Center, and fraternity members and their families and guests stayed at the hotels near the venue. Social events and entertainment activities were spread out across the city’s hotels, cultural venues, restaurants, and attractions. Another major beneﬁt of Minneapolis, according to Snow, is the support of major corporations based in the city. In addition to Kappa Alpha Psi’s usual national sponsors, companies like Best Buy, Target, and Jostens sponsored the group’s events. “The city has a very strong corporate partner base,” said Snow. “We were privileged to have had the most local corporate sponsorship ever.” H —Section written by Heidi Waldrop Bay www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - December 17, 2007

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