The Midwest's terrific twins prove that two's definitely company
Considered for years a Midwest hub, Minneapolis and Saint Paul have finally arrived as a legitimate U.S. metro area, thanks to the popularity of residents like Prince, Garrison Keillor, the filmmaking Coen brothers, and former Governor Jesse Ventura.
Legend has it that Mark Twain came up with the nickname "Twin Cities" to describe the urban Minneapolis and the quieter state capital of Saint Paul.
Situated on opposite sides of the Mississippi River, the Twin Cities are a classic example of America's industrious heartland: Its people are prosperous, they love sports and the outdoors, and they go gaga over shopping. An April 2004 poll released by AOL Travel and Travel + Leisure named Minneapolis the fourth-best shopping destination in the U.S., behind New York, Chicago and San Francisco.
Home base to 19 Fortune 500 companies and blessed with a central geographic location, the Twin Cities also attract plenty of meetings business, according to Kevin Lewis, vice president of sales for the Greater Minneapolis Convention & Visitors Association and the Minneapolis Convention Center.
Minneapolis"Minneapolis' vibrant and safe downtown, state-of-the-art convention center and top-notch hotels make it an ideal convention venue," Lewis says. "Downtown Minneapolis is compact and easy to navigate by foot. In fact, we were recently named one of the most walkable cities by the Public Broadcasting System."
Lewis adds that groups from all over the U.S. are drawn to the destination during warmer months, with wintertime numbers highest for regional groups. Medical groups in particular come for Minneapolis' healthy, clean and safe community, as well as the top-flight University of Minnesota and Medtronic medical facilities. Educational groups also represent much of the meetings business, and groups with high percentages of female delegates prefer the Twin Cities for the ample shopping opportunities.
The infrastructure is always improving in this energetic metro area. As with Saint Paul, an enclosed downtown skyway system connects dozens of city blocks in Minneapolis, a welcome addition for pedestrians during the traditionally cold winters. By the end of 2004, the brand-new Minneapolis Light Rail Transit system will be in full service, stopping at 17 stations and 11 neighborhoods, connecting downtown to the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) and the Mall of America. In 2002 the airport opened two new concourses and cargo facilities, with a new fourth runway due to open in late 2005.
Chief among the larger meeting venues, the Minneapolis Convention Center provides 480,000 square feet of exhibit space; 93 meeting rooms; two expansive ballrooms; and a unique, state-of-the-art, 3,400-seat auditorium. Located in the 12-block Nicollet Mall shopping zone, the Hyatt Regency accommodates groups with 37 meeting rooms, including an executive boardroom and a Lake Suite Conference Center with capacity for up to 300 guests. The Hilton property fills a 25-story elegant Victorian brick building and provides a hefty 56,000 square feet of function space, including the largest hotel ballroom in Minnesota. The 360-room Radisson downtown facility offers another 19,000 square feet of flexible meeting space.
Several unique off-site venues are also available for functions.
Opened in September 2003, the Mill City Museum was originally the world's largest flower mill, and today chronicles the local milling industry. A meeting space overlooks the Mississippi River and can accommodate 750 people reception style.
Outside the downtown area, venues combine plenty of space with a tranquil environment conducive to productive meetings. The Radisson Hotel Metrodome is located on the University of Minnesota East Bank campus, one mile from downtown Minneapolis. The property features more than 20,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, all situated on one floor. The architecturally stunning McNamara Alumni Center, located adjacent to the Radisson, features a 90-foot-tall atrium and six meeting rooms, with a reception capacity for 800 people.
In Plymouth, Minn., Radisson Hotel & Conference Center sits adjacent to a 25-acre marshland preserve and offers 243 guest rooms and 35 dedicated meeting rooms.
The Minneapolis Metro North region boasts more than 3,000 hotel rooms and two full-service conference centers. Located on the grounds of a restored country estate, the Earle Brown Heritage Center includes more than 36,000 square feet of flexible meeting space as well as a 10-room retreat facility. The luxurious 231-suite Northland Inn & Conference Center wraps around an eight-story atrium and provides 25 conference rooms with more than 33,000 square feet of meeting space. Opening in summer 2004, just 10 minutes from downtown, the tropical-themed Grand Rios resort complex will offer 224 guest rooms and suites, 14,000 square feet of conference space, an outdoor tiki bar and dining area, and private courtyards.
BloomingtonBloomington is the largest suburb in the Twin Cities, and nearly one-third of its total area is recreational parks and open land. Yet at the same time, its 35 hotels offer roughly 7,600 rooms. Meeting space is available for groups of up to 20,000 people, and airport shuttles are free at all hotels.
Bloomington's largest attraction is indeed large. The Mall of America sprawls over 4.2 million square feet and includes more than 500 retail stores, from Bloomingdale's to Macy's, Nordstrom, Sam Goody, Banana Republic, The Gap, and Ann Taylor. Smart shoppers know the added valueMinneapolis has no sales tax on clothing and shoes.
The nation's largest entertainment and retail complex contains 60 restaurants, seven nightclubs, 14 theaters, NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway, the seven-acre amusement park Camp Snoopy, and Underwater Adventures, a 1.2 million-gallon aquarium.
Special group programs, tours and guest services are available, and many hotels offer free shuttles to and from the mall, just 15 minutes from downtown.
Saint PaulSitting atop scenic bluffs along the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is drawing groups with $1.7 billion in revitalizations throughout the city, including more than $30 million in hotel renovations.
Among the newer additions is a $10 million skyway tunnel pedestrian connection, allowing delegates to go from meetings to hotels to entertainment venues, all without putting on winter clothing or dealing with parking.
According to Julie Larson, vice president of convention sales for the Saint Paul CVB, the capital's unique, safe ambience and attractive hotel rates are top draws for groups.
"We have an awesome blend of old buildings and new mixed together in our city," Larson says. "Based on the architecture and numerous parks in the downtown area, we have a decidedly European air about us. We can offer competitive hotel room rates and a variety of hotel room options from moderate to mid-price to luxury. We are a family-friendly town. Saint Paul has one of the highest safety ratings of convention destinations in the U.S."
Popular meeting and convention facilities include the Saint Paul RiverCentre convention and entertainment complex. The upper Midwest's premier venue for receptions, conferences and concerts, RiverCentre features 253,000 square feet of event space, a 27,100-square-foot grand ballroom and 26 meeting rooms, many with spectacular views of the Mississippi River. Attached venues include the Roy Wilkins Auditorium Complex and the 650,000-square-foot Xcel Energy Center, home stadium of NHL's Minnesota Wild hockey team. RiverCentre is linked directly to the downtown skyway system.
Located between Minneapolis and Saint Paul in Midway's Energy Park, the Bandana Banquet & Conference Centre has transformed a former locomotive repair shop into a charming and rustic retail, dining, entertainment, and convention venue. An attached Holiday Inn adds guest rooms and meeting rooms ideal for small to midsize conferences. Larson adds that most meetings business is short-term bookings, with some fairly large groups booking six to eight months out.
"Meeting planners are definitely gun shy with attrition and are lowering their room blocks knowing full well attendees are shopping online for better rates and booking outside the block," Larson says. "We are also competing with first-tier cities for groups that they would never have gone after two or three years ago and offering very competitive convention package plans."
Offsite venues in Saint Paul provide many planning options.
The $100 million Science Museum of Minnesota overlooks the river, with 70,000 square feet of exhibit space, including 14,000 square feet of exquisite meeting and event space.
Open since 2002, the VenueGaltier, a renovated theater space in Saint Paul's Galtier Plaza, offers seven high-tech meeting rooms, with the original movie theater marquee still gracing the exterior and available to welcome your group in neon lights.
Saint Paul is also home to a variety of elegant century-old buildings that double as off-site meeting venues. Built in 1902 as a courthouse and post office, downtown's Landmark Center offers beautifully restored courtrooms that are ideal for meetings and luncheons of up to 100 people. Its four-story Musser Cortile atrium holds up to 1,000 guests for meetings, dinners and seminars. The Fitzgerald Theater, built in 1910 and designed as a "two-balcony dramatic house" with perfect sightlines, is Saint Paul's oldest-surviving theater space. It seats about 1,000 people, hosts theater, dance, music, and corporate events, and acts as home to Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion.
"It really is a great city," Larson adds. "And one that sells itself when meeting planners come to town on site inspections or when we host FAMs."
Day TrippingDelegates can take a variety of excursions around the Twin Cities.
"The most popular group excursion is hands-down the Mall of America," says Shannon J. McCarthy of the Greater Minneapolis Convention & Visitors Association. "It's a must-see."
Since Minneapolis is known for its lakesthere are 22 within the city limitsMcCarthy says boat cruises are very popular as well. Paradise Charter Cruises offers corporate packages for its three boats on Lake Minnetonka, with capacity for up to 80 passengers. A new yacht, the
Paradise Lady, was launched in spring 2004 from Raspberry Island, and the 150-passenger vessel is available for riverfront cocktail and dinner cruises. The
Minnesota Centennial Showboat, a charming turn-of-the-last-century-style riverboat, offers a summer theater season of period musicals and melodramas, and is also available for private parties and other special events. The Padelford Packet Boat Company operates a traditional Mississippi sternwheeler riverboat, which is available for private charters and features theater dinner cruises, sightseeing and historical narration. A unique option for groups of 50 or less, a 1946 vintage towboat called the
MV Covington is moored at the public dock and offers space for parties, meetings and receptions amid the rich decor of mahogany, brass and bronze. Functions are complemented by the reflection of downtown Saint Paul's towering skyline.
Nightlife centers include Minneapolis' trendy Warehouse District, home to restaurants, art galleries and retail shops. The Dinkytown riverfront district is lined with bookstores, bars and boutiques. Saint Paul's downtown nightlife centers on Rice Park and the adjacent Ordway Music Theater, while the highbrow Cathedral Hill neighborhood crowns a hilltop northwest of downtown.