Kansas City Area

The Kansas City metro area, which includes Kansas City, Mo.; Kansas City, Kan.; and Overland Park, Kan., is a preferred Midwest destination for meeting planners, who give it high marks for it's "A-list" of attributes—accessibility, affordability and attitude.

Its central location in the heart of the Midwest allows convenient access from all parts of the country by both land and air, while it is priced well within the budget of cost-conscious groups, and the warm hospitality of its convention officials and hoteliers, who go out of their way to accommodate group requests, adds to the overall value of a meeting program.

Both Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kan., are reaping the benefits of increased meetings and conventions business, as reflected by a boost in hotel occupancies over the past three years, while nearby Overland Park also continues to register solid growth.


Kansas City, Mo.

With an impressive new convention district being developed a few blocks from the Kansas City Convention Center, 2007 is shaping up as a milestone year for the city. Between 2004 and 2010, Kansas City is devoting more than $4.5 billion to downtown development as part of the city's $7 billion renaissance.

"We are in the midst of one of the largest urban construction projects currently under way in the U.S., as 14 square blocks in the middle of downtown have been leveled—except a few historic buildings—to make way for the all-new convention district," says Bill Bohde, vice president of convention sales at the Kansas City Convention and Visitors Association."

The transformation of the convention district will result in a vibrant, walkable downtown, featuring new dining and nightlife venues along with upgraded hotels and new attractions.

Planners bringing groups to Kansas City in 2007 can be among the first to take advantage of several major additions.

Next spring, the Kansas City Convention Center is slated to unveil a 46,500-square-foot ballroom as the centerpiece of a $135 million renovation and expansion of the facility.

There is also great anticipation building for the fall 2007 opening of the $270 million Sprint Center arena, a world-class downtown facility that will be located five blocks from the convention center and play host to major sports events and concerts, in addition to the NCAA Basketball Hall of Fame.

Also generating a lot of downtown buzz is the $350 million Power and Light district that will open for business next fall. Built by the Baltimore-based Cordish Company, it will contain a mix of restaurants, shops and nightclubs, including a block dubbed "Kansas City Live," featuring a permanent outdoor performance stage.

Meanwhile, the National World War I Museum is slated to open this December beneath the existing Liberty Memorial, and the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art plans to finish a $200 million renovation and expansion next June.

There is also plenty of development on the hotel front.

Leading the list of enhancements is the Kansas City Marriott Downtown, which is spending $8.5 million to remodel its nearly 1,000 guest rooms. Renovations to the Marriott's 550 tower rooms are slated for completion by next fall, while the entire project should be finished by late 2008. The property is the latest in a series of hotels to undergo refurbishments, including the Hilton President Kansas City, a landmark downtown property that reopened for business earlier this year following a $45 million renovation and restoration.

Other hotels that have wrapped up major renovations include the Hyatt Regency Crown Center, the Westin at Crown Center, the Intrigue Park Place Hotel, and the Sheraton Suites Country Club Plaza, as well as the Kansas City Airport Marriott, the Hilton Kansas City Airport and the Howard Johnson Plaza Kansas City Airport.

In addition, the Clarion Hotel Sports Complex is planning a major renovation, and the newly renovated Argosy Casino is building a $66 million, 258-room hotel that will feature six additional meeting rooms and 2,000 square feet of additional prefunction space. The property will open next year.

The new and upgraded properties are part of the healthy lineup of meetings-friendly hotels in Kansas City, while planners can also look farther outside the city for options. One top relaxing retreat, located 28 miles northeast of town in scenic Excelsior Springs, is the historic Elms Resort and Spa, where spa treatments, a challenge course for team building and activities such as golf at a nearby course are on tap.


Kansas City, Kan.

Just across the river from its larger and better-known namesake, Kansas City, Kan., is also making major strides to enhance its status as a Midwest meetings destination.

"Not only are we accessible and affordable, but we are becoming known for the quality of our entertainment, with so many different activities available for attendees," says Bridgette Jobe, director of the Kansas City, Kansas/Wyandotte County CVB.

Jobe notes the catchy marketing slogan for the entire county, "The Dot's Got It," and points to the Village West area as key to Kansas City's revival. Adjacent to the Kansas City Speedway, the 400-acre Village West development has emerged as a popular place for dining, shopping and nightlife for both locals and attendees. Highlights include Cabela's outdoor outfitters; the Great Wolf Lodge, home to a 40,000-square-foot indoor and outdoor water park, 281 suites and a variety of meeting venues; and The Legends, an 800,000-square-foot outdoor retail, dining and entertainment district that recently opened. The Legends honors Kansas' art, history, politics, science, and sports legends and features more 20 nationally and internationally known restaurants and specialty stores, including T-Rex, an interactive restaurant where kids can come face to face with life-sized dinosaurs.

"We offer both adult and family-friendly entertainment, which has proved to be a potent combination in this market," Jobe says.

Looking toward the future, Kansas City will be the home to the 300-acre Schlitterbahn Vacation Village, located just east of the Kansas City Speedway and Village West. With the first phase due to open in 2008, it will feature a River Walk with retail stores, restaurants and entertainment, along with an interactive marine park and a summertime water park and lodging facilities.

Jobe speaks highly of the unique relationship that has been forged by the three main players in the Kansas City metro region, explaining that while each city focuses on promoting itself, community leaders realize that by working together they can grow the meetings market.

"We are fortunate to have a great bi-state partnership with Kansas City, Mo., as well as Overland Park, which we call "coopetition,'" she says. "Occasionally I may not have sufficient space for a particular meeting or convention, but since I want the group to stay in the Kansas City area, I can work with my partners to accommodate the attendees. I want people who come here to get the entire Kansas City experience by also spending time in Kansas City, Mo., and Overland Park."

Jobe adds that her city typically hosts small to midsize groups up to a maximum of 1,000 attendees and is an especially popular meetings destination for state associations, religious groups and military reunions.

The city features the Jack Reardon Convention Center and meetings-friendly properties such as the Best Western Inn and Conference Center, the Hilton Garden Inn Kansas City and the new Holiday Inn Express Village West.


Overland Park

Just 15 minutes southwest of Kansas City, Kan., Overland Park is a gateway to the entire Kansas City metro area and a favorite for its big-city amenities, upscale suburban ambience and green spaces.

The community is known for a wide range of exclusive specialty stores and boutiques, along with discount retailers and expansive malls, and it also boasts more than 250 restaurants and a year-round schedule of Broadway-style musicals at the New Theater Restaurant. With roughly 85 parks and other natural spaces, the outdoors is also always close at hand.

Overland Park's tourism infrastructure is well equipped to handle midsize meetings and conventions.

In its fourth year of operation, the state-of-the art Overland Park Convention Center is a glass-enclosed 254,000-square-foot complex that is connected by covered walkways to the 412-room Sheraton Overland Park Hotel, which has 20,000 square feet of meeting and event space.

"The convention center has done exceptionally well right from the start and has turned a profit in three of its four years of existence," says Jerry Cook, president of the Overland Park CVB.

Besides a first-class convention facility, Overland Park offers planners a choice of 32 hotels with a total of 5,100 rooms. There are nearly 1,000 rooms within walking distance of the convention center and 3,000 within a five-minute drive.

According to statistics compiled by the CVB, Overland Park's hotels posted one of their best years ever in 2005, with a record average daily rate of $84 along with an occupancy rate of 64.4 percent, the highest since 2000. In addition, the booking pace for room nights generated by groups increased by almost 6,000 rooms.

The second-largest property after the Sheraton is the 390-room Marriott Overland Park, with 14,000 square feet of meeting space and two ballrooms.

Overland Park's No. 1 event in total attendance for 2005 was the Lifeway Christian Resources "Living Proof Live," which drew 15,000 attendees, while the leader in room nights was the Central States Shrine Association, which held its third event in Overland Park last year, luring more than 8,000 attendees to the convention center and several other facilities, including the Overland Park International Trade Center, the Lenexa Community Center and the Johnson County Fairgrounds.

"One of the key elements to our marketing strategy is generating repeat business, and once we get a group to come here, we want to make sure they return a second and third time," Cook says, adding that roughly 67 percent of groups that meet in Overland Park are repeaters.


For More Info

Kansas City Convention and Visitors Association    816.221.5242    www.visitkc.com

Kansas City Kansas/Wyandotte County CVB    913.321.5800    www.visitthedot.com

Overland Park CVB    913.491.0123    www.opcvb.org