Square Feet & More

PLANNING A CORPORATE meeting or convention has never been easier. Numerous public facilities around the State offer flexible meeting space galore. Most have onsite AN equipment, high-speed Internet access, full-service catering and dedicated event coordinators.

Allen County War Memorial Coliseum,

The Coliseum's 108,000-square-foot Exposition Center provides seating for up to 7,500 and can be combined with adjacent areas for a total of 175,000 square feet. Its recently remodeled arena can accommodate nearly 13,000, and the facility has other numerous meeting/banquet rooms that can accommodate meetings from 25 to 5,000.

"One of the main strengths of the coliseum complex is its size and the ability to host 15 major events at the same time,` says Randy Brown, general manager. "With nearly 1 million square feet under one roof, we are the second-largest public assembly complex in the state of Indiana." 4000 Parnell Ave. Fort Wayne, IN 46805 260/482-9502

Bloomington Convention Center. Bloomington

Housed in a former auto dealership, once known as "Ford Corner," the Bloomington Convention Center boasts 22,000 square feet of functional meeting space. Its 11 meeting rooms include free wireless Internet and phone services, and they can be configured in a variety of ways. Additional services include an information and message center and coat-check rooms on each floor. The facility can accommodate banquets for up to 800 and trade shows for 1,000, and is ideal for meetings or conferences of 300 people or less.

The center is connected to the 117-room Courtyard by Marriott via a climate-controlled walkway and is within walking distance of eclectic downtown Bloomington.

302 S. College Ave. Bloomington, IN 47403 812/336-3681 bloom bloomingtonconvention.com Century Center Convention Cultural Complex, South Bend

The 30-foot glass window in the Great Hall of the Century Center Convention Cultural Complex offers a spectacular view of East Race Water-way rapids, as does its White Water Ballroom. Located on an 11-acre riverfront park, the facility can accommodate large trade shows to smaller meetings.

According to David Hicks, interim marketing director, the facility is host to 700 events and 200,000 visitors annually "The center's strengths are in its flexibility, event-planning and coordination expertise and in-house media services," says Hicks.

The center's 75,000 square feet of meeting and convention space includes three exhibit halls (one with 25,000 square feet of unobstructed space), 18 lower-level suites that can be configured in a variety of ways and two theaters that can seat 166 and 700.

The facility offers Wi-Fi connections, accommodates parking for 400 and is connected to the 298-room South Bend Marriott via a climatecontrolled skywalk.

120 S. Saint Joseph St. South Bend, IN 46601 574/235-9711

Evansville Auditorium Convention Centre, Evansville

The 280,000-square-foot Evansville Auditorium Convention Centre, with 90,000 square feet of meeting and prefunction space, hosted 229 events in 2005, says Marylinn Thomlison, director of conference sales and marketing,

The centre is just blocks away from the historic district and Casino Aztar and is connected to the 470-room Executive Inn via a skywalk.

"We also have the casino hotel which will also commit a few hundred rooms to us, so I think a big benefit is that right downtown, near the convention center, we have as many as 650 hotel rooms that are committed to a convention group," Thomlison says. "That's not easily found outside of Indianapolis in the state of Indiana."

The Centre's 38,000-square-foot, column-free Exhibition Hall, which is divisible by two, is newly carpeted. It can hold 3,000 to 3,500, theater-style. Other space includes the 14,000-square-foot ballroom, which is divisible by four; the multi-tiered auditorium which can hold 2,500 theater-style; and 12 meeting rooms which can handle up to 1,200, theater-style.

Services include infrared hearing assistance and in-house "pipe and drape" capabilities for up to 100 exhibition booths.

715 Locust St. Evansville, IN 47708 812/435-5770 www.smgevansville.com

Genesis Convention Center, Gary

According to Patricia Wagner, the center's executive director, the 52,000-square-foot Genesis Convention Center averages 7,000 visitors per month and hosts more than 600 events annually.

Located 20 minutes from Chicago and billed as "The Chicago Alternative," tile center boasts ample parking with an attached garage and additional adjacent parking areas.

Its nearly 25,000-square-foot foot arena seats 6,500 theater-style, and the 9,676-square-foot Indiana Hall seats approximately 1,000 theaterstyle and 700 banquet-style. Twelve recently redecorated secondlevel rooms can accommodate smaller groups ranging from 20 to 300.

One Genesis Center Plaza Gary, IN 46402 219/882-5505 www.genesisarena.com

Grand Wayne Center, Fort Wayne

"We are having a banner year in 2006," says Jim Yarnelle, director of marketing for the Grand Wayne Center, adding that he anticipates the facility will host 700 events annually after last year's expansion which essentially doubled its size. "Basically we are still marketing to the same convention market, but we are capturing additional business because we have more meeting space."

The fully carpeted 80,000 square feet of dedicated meeting space can be configured in a variety of ways to suit client needs. The largest banquet space can serve 3,000.

As one of the largest spaces with all the "bells and whistles," the 50,000 square-foot Convention Hall generates a lot of buzz, but the Anthony Wayne Ball Room (10,000 square feet, divisible by two) and the three Jefferson Rooms (1,240 square feet each) are perfect for corporate meetings and smaller conventions. The center's ideal convention size is 500 to 1,200.

120 West Jefferson Blvd. Fort Wayne, IN 46802 160/426-4100 www.grandwayne.com

Horizon Convention Center, Muncie

Located in the heart of Muncie's Hospitality District, the Horizon Convention Center annually hosts approximately 400 events, typically ranging in size from 150 to 400.

Jody Clevenger, director of operations, considers affordability to be one of the center's strengths. Recently the facility brought catering inhouse to provide more flexibility and options for customers. She says its Decorators Packages, upscale decorations for theme events, help the center stay competitive. The facility hosts two to three themed banquets each month.

Housed in the former Federal Building, the 86,000-square-foot facility is a blend of the historic and modern-with a sleek glass-enclosed elevator and a main lobby with its original interior. The nearly 7,800square-foot Interurban Hall, a ballroom that can accommodate up to 500, is newly carpeted. The divisible 24,000-square-foot Exhibition Hall can accommodate up to 2,000 and breakout rooms can hold up to 150.

The center also houses the state's second-largest children's museum. Guest accommodations are available at the historic Roberts Hotel.

401 S. High St. Muncie, IN 47305 888/288-8860 www.horizonconvention.com

Indiana Convention Center & RCA Dome, Indianapolis

With 1.9 million square feet of space, the Indiana Convention Center & RCA Dome is the state's largest convention center. It houses 403,000 square feet of exhibit space and 140,000 square feet of meeting space, including 48 meeting rooms, seven exhibit halls and four ballrooms. In 2005 it accommodated more than 1.66 million visitors and hosted 338 events.

A $900 million expansion project, currently under way, will nearly double its exhibit space, taking it to 730,000 square feet, as well as provide an additional 250,000 square feet of meeting, ballroom and gathering space. The new Lucas Oil Stadium is scheduled to open in August 2008 and the addition to the convention center in 2010.

Increasing the facility's capacity will go a long way toward making Indianapolis more competitive in attracting and retaining conventions, but Bob Schultz, director of communications and public relations for the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association, says it takes more than space to create a successful marketing strategy. "We listen to customers' responses and then act on them," he says, adding that input from convention planners helped identify features that will be incorporated into the new facility.

100 S. Capitol Ave. Indianapolis, IN 46225 317/262-3400 www.iccrd.com

Indiana State Fairgrounds, Indianapolis

With more than one million square feet of meeting space, the Indiana State Fairgrounds hosts approximately 300 events per year, such as the Boat, Sport and Travel Show, the Indianapolis Home Show and the Indianapolis Flower & Patio Show. Together, the Indiana State Fair and year-round fairground events have an economic impact of more than $100 million on the community.

"Our role and our focus will continue to be on consumer shows, public shows and spectator events," says Cindy Hoye, executive director, Indiana State Fair Commission. "Those are our primary lines of business."

In recent years, more than $60 million has been spent on renovating fairgrounds buildings. Currently the third building in the 4-H Complex is under renovation. It will supply more breakout rooms-a continuing need, according to Hoye. But, like most fairgrounds space, it will be versatile.

"Our strength is in our flexibility," says Hoye, "and in working individually with our clients to address their needs."

The fairgrounds' larger venues include the 69,000-square-foot Blue Ribbon Pavilion, the 66,500-square-foot Champions Pavilion, the 49,500-square-foot Pepsi Coliseum, the West Pavilion and the Exposition Hall. Most buildings have high-speed Internet access and Wi-Fi access.

1202 E. 38th St. Indianapolis, IN 46205 317/927-7500 www.in.gov/statefair

Johanning Civic Center, Kokomo

Meeting and convention attendees at the Johanning Civic Center receive the added benefit of being able to view more than 100 unusual automobiles in the on-premises Automotive Heritage Museum. The center has nearly 48,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, including six meeting rooms and the approximately 30,000-squarefoot Exhibition Hall, which can accommodate 3,500 theater-style and 2,500 banquet-style.

1500 North Reed Road (U.S. 31 North) Kokomo, IN 46901 765/4549999 www.johanningciviccenter.org

Purdue Conferences and the Memorial Union, West Lafayette

The Stewart Center, with 23 meeting rooms ranging from 900 to 2,900 square feet, can host meetings for groups of 10 to 500, while the Memorial Union, the major banquet space, can seat 850 banquet-style.

"Companies can have a banquet in the Ross Ade Stadium overlooking the football field, a board meeting in a wine cellar or they can dine in an airport hangar amongst the airplanes," says Paul J. Horngren, director of Purdue University Conference Division.

Altogether, the facility can accommodate up to 6,000. The Union Club Hotel has 192 rooms, and another 2,500 rooms are available nearby A "one-stop-shop" facility, the Conference Division offers full registration services, including online registration and professional conference planners that can plan events for companies worldwide, not just for Purdue locations.

The Conference Division continues to host approximately 700 events annually, but one trend Horngren sees is that the length of meetings and conferences is shortening, as events become more intensive with less "free time" scheduled for participants. Purdue University, Room

116 Stewart Center 128 Memorial Mall West a Lafyette, IN 47907 765/494-7219