Square feet & more: update on the state's major meeting and conference centers.

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WHETHER YOU NEED convention space, conference space or meeting space, it's readily available everywhere in the state--and that includes places to stay that range from affordable to the downright luxurious.

Northern Indiana, Fresh off a $12-million renovation of its 347 guestrooms and suites and public spaces, the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza of Merrillville is gearing up for its next project--its 19 meeting rooms, two executive boardrooms and four hospitality rooms. That renovation will begin the first quarter of 2009. "It will be done in phases so we will still have lots of space available, and construction won't affect the open areas because it will be in a completely different area of the hotel," says Lisa Scalcione, director of sales and marketing. First up will be the 10,560-square-foot Grand Metropolitan Ballroom on the second floor. In combination with the adjacent Star Plaza Theatre, which can seat 3,400 people, there is a total of 67,000 square feet of event space. Services include onsite catering and a business center.

Scalcione says the response to the guestroom and suites renovation has been "absolutely great." Guests enjoy Sleep Number beds, granite countertops in the baths and complimentary high-speed, wireless Internet in the rooms. The atrium's indoor pool features a waterfall, two spas and semiprivate cabanas equipped with wireless Internet and flat-screen TVs. Additional amenities include spa services, exercise room with new equipment, two full-service restaurants and a Starbucks.

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In Porter County, construction is underway for Valparaiso University's new Student Union, slated to open in 2009 to celebrate Valparaiso's 150th anniversary The totally wireless environment will include several options for business meetings--a ballroom that can accommodate 1,000 people auditorium-style or 500 banquet-style and 12 meeting rooms that can seat from 25 to 1,000 people. All rooms will be equipped with the latest technology. There will also be an outdoor terrace on the second floor adjacent to the ballroom, and outdoor dining areas on the east and west sides of the new building.

Two new hotels opened this year in Valparaiso--Country Inn and Suites by Carlson and Holiday Inn Express & Suites. Country Inn offers wireless high-speed Internet in its 59 guest rooms and suites, and has an indoor pool and fitness center. Its flexible meeting space can seat up to 30 people theatre-style. Located near Valparaiso University, the Holiday Inn offers free high-speed Internet access, an indoor pool, fitness center and business center. Another new venue, Trinity Hall, is located on the grounds of St. Patrick's Parish in Chesterton. Trinity Hall can accommodate up to 1,000 people for meetings and banquets and has two separate areas. Catering is provided by Popolano's Restaurant.

The 15,000-square-foot Gillespie Conference Center opened in South Bend this February on the campus of St. Mary's College at Notre Dame. The 8,400-square-foot Fleur de Lis ballroom can seat 840 people theatre-style, and is divisible by five. Additional space includes two pre-function areas, a boardroom and a terrace garden. Adjacent to the center is a 100-room Hilton Garden Inn that opened last September. The sales team at the Hilton handles requests for the Gillespie Conference Center. Additional hotel space is available at the adjacent 150-room Inn at St. Mary's Hotel and Suites.

"The Gillespie Conference Center has been real popular," says Carolyne Wallace, director of sales and convention services, South Bend/Mishawaka Convention and Visitors Bureau. "Everyone wants to try the new place. We've booked quite a few conventions and meetings for the new center. The laid-back campus setting gives us a nice option from the Century Center and the downtown convention district."

Three new hotels are slated to open in this fall: a 79-room Comfort Suites on the south side of South Bend, extended-stay facility Homewood Suites on the west side and a 121-room Hyatt Place, the first of its brand to be constructed from the ground up, in Mishawaka. Hyatt Place will feature 1,260 square feet of meeting space.

The IPFW Holiday Inn at Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne opened this month. It has two meeting rooms--the larger room can handle up to 335 people theatre-style while the smaller accommodates 44 people classroom-style--and exhibit space, large enough to accommodate 10 booths. The 151-room, full-service hotel features high-speed Internet access, an indoor pool, spa and health and fitness center. The Courtyard by Marriott at Harrison Square, which will connect with the Grand Wayne Center and will be located just east of the new ballpark, is slated to open March 2010. The 250-room hotel will add approximately 6,000 square feet of meeting/banquet space to the Fort Wayne inventory A Fairfield Inn at Exit 111 on the northwest side of the city is scheduled to open this fall and a new Homewood Suites, an extended-stay facility on the southwest side of town, is scheduled to open later this winter.

Central Indiana. Groundbreaking for Indy's $425 million convention headquarters complex, which will occupy seven acres near White River State Park, took place this May. Its centerpiece, a joint venture by Merrill-Nile-based White Lodging, Whiteco Industries and Carmel-based REI Real Estate Services, will be the JW Marriott Indianapolis. The 1,005-room, 34-floor hotel will be the city's largest, full-service convention hotel and contain more than 105,000 square feet of meeting, banquet and exhibit space, including a 40,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom. Its grand opening is slated for March 2011. Three other hotels--the Indianapolis Courtyard by Marriott Downtown (294 rooms), the Indianapolis Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Downtown (168 rooms) and the Indianapolis SpringHill Suites by Marriott Downtown (156 rooms)--will complete the hotel offerings at the complex, and are expected to open in March 2010, along with T.G.I. Friday's restaurant.

The project's 1,623 hotel rooms will be a big boon to the Indianapolis convention and tourist industry, which provides $3.56 billion in total annual economic impact on the Indianapolis economy.

The 63,000-seat Lucas Oil Stadium opens in mid-August, providing Indianapolis with 179,000 square feet of exhibit and meeting space, replacing the 96,000-square-foot space of the RCA Dome. Construction is underway on the new Convention Center, which will include 63,000 square feet of meeting-room space, 103,000 square feet of pre-function space and 254,000 square feet of exhibit halls. It is scheduled for completion in 2010.

"We have a new chapter opening in Indianapolis with the opening of the Lucas Oil Stadium and the closure of the RCA Dome and the expansion of the convention center," says Bob Schultz, director of communications and public relations for the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association. "As has been demonstrated time-and time-again in the history of Indianapolis, private investment follows public investment. So we have new hotel projects as well as existing hotels kicking it up a notch with new decor packages."

Meanwhile, things are not grinding to a halt in Circle City Schultz says bookings have already increased for the post-expansion years. "In 2009 and 2010 we are working on booking smaller events," he says. "We have over 25 hotels with 10,000 square feet or more of meeting space. The majority of them are downtown, but some are at the Fashion Mall They become ideal smaller properties for events that may not require the use of the convention center."

This spring the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis completed an $11 million renovation of its 344,000 square feet of meeting space, including a new 8,226-square-foot, column-free Cosmopolitan Ballroom on the third floor. The Indianapolis Marriott Downtown just completed a $9.5 million renovation that expanded its room count to 622 and upgraded those rooms with a new decor package. It was the hotel's first renovation since it opened in 2001. The renovation of its 40,000 square feet of meeting space is nearing completion. An expansion is currently under way at the Indianapolis Marriott East. When completed, the hotel will have a total of 315 guest rooms, including 35 suites, five presidential suites and 25 executive king rooms. The 134-room Hyatt Place Airport and the 124-room Hyatt Place Keystone Crossing, both formerly AmeriSuites, were upgraded during the conversions, and offer free Wi-Fi and 42-inch high-definition televisions in the rooms, among other new amenities.

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Two offerings from Fishers-based Dora Brothers Hospitality Corp. recently opened in downtown Indianapolis. Extended-stay facility Staybridge Suites (113 suites) opened in May and Comfort Suites (130 suites) opened this July. Both are conveniently located adjacent to the Lucas Oil Stadium. Each hotel features an indoor pool, free high-speed Internet access, free garage parking and a fitness center. Comfort Suites has 1,300 square feet of meeting space that can be divided into two separate rooms. Dora also operates Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites (108 rooms), Candlewood Suites (142 suites) and extended-stay facility Park Place (140 rooms) as part of its City Centre Hotels brand.