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.

The Hotel Indigo Fishers, a 115-room boutique hotel that opened last fall on Indy's north side, has approximately 1,390-square-feet of meeting space that can accommodate from five to 135 guests. The Fishers Conference Center at Interstate 69 and 96th Street is within walking distance of 400-plus hotel rooms--including those of the upscale Hotel Indigo. The conference center has a boardroom and its ballroom, which is divisible by three, can seat up to 475 people theatre-style. The center, which opened in 2006, offers free parking and catering supplied by its in-house chef.

"We are more conference and less convention," says Jan Beam, director of operations. "If a business needs to pull together 100 of its regional managers for a training session, we can do that. We've hosted training sessions that lasted for four days and some that lasted for two hours, so we are very flexible. This has worked out well for the local businesses. They really appreciate having a place to go to do that type of thing off-site."

Meeting planners seeking a location in Madison County have a number of options at Anderson University's Flagship Professional Development Center. Located at the Flagship Enterprise Center, this meeting space builds on the entrepreneurial energy of the business incubator and offers state-of-the-art technology and dining packages. The 8,000-square-foot center has a high-tech auditorium that seats 159 and may be used for conferences, seminars and receptions.

Meeting planners seeking a location in Madison County have a number of options at Anderson University's Flagship Professional Development Center. Located at the Flagship Enterprise Center, this meeting space builds on the entrepreneurial energy of the business incubator and offers state-of-the-art technology and dining packages. The 8,000-square-foot center has a high-tech auditorium that seats 159 and may be used for conferences, seminars and receptions.

The Radisson Hotel Bloomington, Bloomington's newest and only full-service hotel, opened the first of the year. Formerly University Plaza Hotel, it features 120 newly renovated upscale suites, complete with flat-screen televisions, iPod docking stations, complimentary wireless high-speed Internet access and dining at Sarafina's Italian Bistro. It also boasts the Kinser-Monroe Ballroom--2,700-square-feet of flexible meeting space that can accommodate up to 200 people banquet-style and can be divided for smaller meetings. The new 66-room Comfort Inn, which is under the same ownership, connects to the Radisson via a hallway The smoke-free, pet-friendly inn features an exercise room, free wireless, high-speed Internet access and an outdoor pool.

Southern Indiana. West Baden Springs Hotel and French Lick Springs Hotel, part of the French Lick Resort Casino family, continue to offer luxurious surroundings for business meetings. West Baden Springs Hotel has 246 guestrooms and suites and 40,000 square feet of special event and meeting space. This April it became a non-smoking facility, however, some of French Lick Springs' 443 guestrooms and suites will still be available for smokers. French Lick features a 109,000-square-foot conference and event center, including a 13,000-square-foot ballroom and exhibit space and high-speed Internet access. The French Lick Resort Casino features gaming, golfing, horseback riding, indoor/outdoor tennis, a spa, indoor/outdoor pool and fitness center, bowling and other amenities.

The Hilton Garden Inn Evansville, which opened this month, has 112 guestroom (25 are suites) equipped with 32-inch LCD televisions and a generous work area. It features two meeting rooms that can accommodate up to 60 people and a complimentary business center that is accessible 24/7. Other amenities include an indoor pool, fitness center, whirlpool and an on-site restaurant. The Fairfield Inn Evansville West completed renovations to its rooms, suites, whirlpool suites and common areas earlier this year. All rooms are smoke-free and come with 32-inch flat panel televisions, granite vanities, work areas and free wireless Internet access. The Fairfield features meeting rooms that can accommodate up to 150 people, an indoor pool and exercise room. The Executive Inn Evansville recently renovated its 30,000-square-feet of meeting and public space and guestrooms. Wireless high-speed Internet access is now available through the hotel.

The 100-suite Le Merigot at The District, Evansville's first boutique hotel, is the epitome of luxury and pampering, featuring multi-unit body sprays, rain-maker showerheads, plush micro-fleece robes and slippers, Starbucks coffee service, Italian linens and soaking tubs, as well as high-speed Internet access, MP3 input and LCD flat-screen televisions in the bedroom and bath. Five extraordinary suites offer panoramic views of the Ohio River and Evansville's entertainment district. The 250-room Casino Aztar Hotel, with 20,000 square feet of meeting space, is also near The District, which features an impressive lineup of restaurants, and across from Casino Aztar.

The upgrades and new facilities are a welcome addition to the city. "Compared to last year, we are ahead of bookings on our convention calendar," says Laura Libs, marketing and communications manager, Evansville Convention & Visitors Bureau. "We are doing quite well and our occupancy rate is climbing.