So where are the rising meeting destinations in the Midwest? Indianapolis has a good start on becoming a meetings leader, but so do Wisconsin Dells and Sandusky, Ohio — look at the groups all those waterparks are drawing. Rosemont, Ill., has become a big meetings draw in spite of being so close to Chicago, which is already a national powerhouse because of its huge convention space. Officials and facility owners, however, have determined that McCormick Place and Navy Pier need to add hotels and ramp up the excitement factor to keep their leadership.

In Michigan, Detroit is undergoing a renaissance. Hotel St. Regis has reopened, the MGM Grand opened in October, and MotorCity Casino opened its 400-room hotel in November. Work is under way to renovate two downtown landmarks: The storied Book-Cadillac is becoming a 455-room Westin Hotel, and the former Pick-Fort Shelby Hotel is being converted into a 204-room Doubletree Guest Suites.

In Indianapolis, construction on Lucas Oil Stadium should be completed in August or September, and an expansion to the convention center will start this summer. When completed in fall 2010, the Indiana Convention Center, in combination with the new stadium, will offer nearly 750,000 square feet of exhibit space. Connected to the complex will be a new headquarters hotel, the 1,000-room JW Marriott Hotel, which is slated for completion in spring 2010.

Cleveland plans to link the University Arts and Retail District to downtown via rapid transit. The Arts and Retail District is adjacent to University Circle, the city's main hub for museums, performing arts, and educational facilities.

East of Cleveland on Lake Erie, Sandusky has gotten into the waterpark business and discovered meetings are a big reason for business to bloom. Kalahari's chief financial officer, Mary Bonte Spath, announced in September that in the nine months since the opening of the NIA Center, the facility's conference center, the park had done as much business as it did in the preceding 12 months. In December it opened an addition to its indoor waterpark and 96 more condominium units.

The Midwest/Facilities Update

Illinois

• In September, La Quinta Inns & Suites broke ground on a hotel in the Financial District. La Quinta Inn & Suites — Chicago Downtown will have 241 guest rooms, two meeting rooms, and a business center when it opens late this year.

• Hard Rock Hotel Chicago completed a $106 million renovation. The hotel has 381 rooms, 20 suites, and conference facilities for up to 400 guests.

• Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago welcomed its first guests in December. The hotel has 339 guest rooms, two ballrooms, five conference rooms, and two executive boardrooms.

• The 500-room Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center offers 48,000 square feet of meeting space and a 100,000-square-foot, pillar-free convention center.

• The Hyatt Regency Woodfield in Schaumburg is slated to begin a renovation of all guest rooms, public space, and meeting rooms.

• A multimillion-dollar redevelopment has restored the Doubletree Hotel & Conference Center Chicago — North Shore in Skokie. The 369-room hotel has more than 22,000 square feet of redesigned, IACC — certified meeting space.

• The 369-room Doubletree Hotel Chicago-O'Hare Rosemont across from the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center has been purchased by the Dow Hotel Co. and will undergo a multimillion-dollar renovation. It has more than 19,000 square feet of meeting space.

• Starwood opened the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center just outside Chicago in Lombard, Ill. The hotel is 12 miles southwest of O'Hare airport and 21 miles from Chicago Midway. The hotel offers 500 guest rooms and 39,000 square feet of meeting and event space.

Indiana

• The 497-room Hyatt Regency Indianapolis in November unveiled its $13 million renovation. Changes include new meeting space for a total of 30,000 square feet.

• Sheraton Indianapolis City Centre has had several enhancements and renovated 378 guest rooms, including 45 suites. The hotel has more than 18,000 square feet of meeting space.

• The renamed and renovated Fort Wayne Inn will become a Clarion hotel with 202 rooms within a few blocks of the convention hall.

Minnesota

• Construction began in November on a $30 million, 175-room Embassy Suites Hotel to be connected to the Earle Brown Conference Center in Heritage Center near Minneapolis. The hotel is expected to be complete in about a year. Work on a second, 75-room hotel will begin in about 18 months.

• The 403-room former Grand Lodge Hotel in Bloomington has been renamed the Radisson Hotel Bloomington. The 403-room hotel has 5,200 square feet of meeting space and is connected to the Water Park of America.

• In place of the Midland Bank Building comes the Hotel Minneapolis. The building will be transformed by August 2008 into a 224-room hotel, restaurant, and conference center that will host meetings of 10 to 230 attendees and will have use of the catering and meeting services of the hotel.

• Plans for expanding the Mall of America, Bloomington, include a $40 million Kimpton hotel. Construction on the 202-room property is expected to be complete this summer.

Michigan

• In November, the Hotel Pontchartrain became the Sheraton Detroit Riverside. Renovated in a two-year, $35 million makeover, the Sheraton offers 367 guest rooms and eight meeting rooms, the largest of which is 5,307 square feet in area.

• The 235-room Ann Arbor Marriott Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest completed a multimillion-dollar renovation. Guest rooms, two ballrooms, and 30 meeting rooms accounting for 30,000 square feet of meeting space were renovated.

Ohio

• CoCo Key Water Resort, a 50,000-square-foot indoor waterpark, opened in November at the Sheraton Cincinnati North. The hotel has 257 guest rooms and 18 meeting rooms.

• Doubletree Hotels opened the converted 306-room Doubletree Hotel Columbus/Worthington in August, 10 miles north of downtown. There is a 7,600-square-foot ballroom and 17,000 square feet of meeting space.

Wisconsin

• The reflagged Wyndham Milwaukee Airport Hotel & Convention Center will undergo a two-year renovation of its 508 guest rooms and more than 55,000 square feet of meeting, banquet, and convention hall space.

• In September, Noble Investment Group announced the acquisition of the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee. The 483-room Hyatt Regency is connected via skyway to the Midwest Airlines Center and is adjacent to the Bradley Center, U.S. Cellular Arena, and the Milwaukee Theater. The hotel will undergo an $18 million renovation.

• Virtually every corner of The Abbey Resort on Lake Geneva has undergone refurbishment in the past two years, from the 334 guest rooms and suites to the more than 40,000 square feet of meeting and event facilities. This past April, it was taken under new management by the Hostmark Hospitality Group.

Trip Tips

• Megabus, the city-to-city bus transport based in Chicago, has expanded to include Ann Arbor, Mich.; Columbus, Ohio; Kansas City, Mo.; and Louisville, Ky.

• Is your group meeting in and around a large city? You may find less costly room rates just outside the city limits.

• Meet in Chicago without taking the group for pizza? Unthinkable! Here are two from the list of the top-five pizza joints in the city: Gino's East of Chicago at 633 N. Wells St., (312) 943-1124, has superb deep-dish pizza. Giordano's at 730 N. Rush St., (312) 951-0747, has topped the list for its stuffed-crust pizzas.

• Heading for Wis-consin Dells to meet near a waterpark? You should definitely suggest that attendees bring the kids.

Ask the CVB

Illinois

Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau
(312) 567-8500
www.choosechicago.com

Rosemont Convention Bureau
(847) 823-2100
www.rosemont.com

Indiana

Indianapolis CVA
(317) 639-4282
www.indy.org

Michigan

Detroit Metro CVB
(313) 202-1800,
(888) CALL-DTW
www.visitdetroit.com

Grand Rapids/Kent County CVB
(800) 678-9859
www.meetgrandrapids.org

Minnesota

Greater Minneapolis CVA
(800) 445-7412
minneapolismeetings.com

Saint Paul CVB
(800) 627-6101
www.visitsaintpaul.com

Ohio

Greater Columbus CVB
(614) 221-6623
(800) 354-2657; www.ExperienceColumbus.com

CVB of Greater Cleveland
(800) 321-1001; www.positivelycleveland.com

Greater Cincinnati CVB
(800) 543-2613
www.cincymeetings.com

Wisconsin

Greater Milwaukee CVB
(414) 273-2879
www.visitmilwaukee.org

Wisconsin Dells VCB
(800) 223-3557
www.wisdells.com

Special Venues

• In Milwaukee, the Harley-Davidson Museum is scheduled to open this summer. The museum can accommodate 20 to 1,050 guests indoors and up to 15,000 people outdoors. Meals can be as memorable as a “Road King Breakfast” with all the fixings, “Brake Out” afternoon snacks of penny candy and root beer floats, or a New York strip steak dinner. (877) 736-8738; www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/HD_Museum/

• In Lisle, Ill., the 1,700-acre Morton Arboretum is both a park and an outdoor museum of woodlands, wetlands, and gardens. The arboretum is open 365 days a year, and attractions include the four-acre Children's Garden, the Maze Garden, the Schulenberg Prairie, and the Fragrance Garden. The new Visitor Center houses the Gingko Room and Restaurant, a couple of meeting rooms, and a gift shop. (630) 968-0074; trees@mortonarb.org

• An addition to the beautiful Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 2006 created additional spaces for groups to meet. Graves Reception Hall, with soaring maple panels and a barrel-vaulted ceiling, can host up to 350 people. The Pillsbury Auditorium can seat 250 theater-style. For a smaller group, the Wells Fargo Community Room with its banks of windows brings the outdoors in. (612) 870-3049; events@artsmia.org