Smart Meetings

Just 350 miles west of the geographic center of the country, Denver has managed to keep its rugged roots of Victorian architecture and brick-faced buildings, while adding dramatic and graceful new hotels, arts venues and sports arenas that have made it a cosmopolitan city for the 21st Century.

Metropolitan area has a population of more than two million—a quarter of them within Denver city limits. Its business base attracts growth industries like aerospace, bioscience, energy and technology. Forecast Magazine named it a ‘21st Century Boomtown’ and Fortune ranked it the second-best city in which to work and play.

Many conventioneers extend their stay in Denver in order to more fully experience the Rocky Mountains. Some even bring families along. Companies like Colorado Event Organizers (CEO) specialize in tours for incentive groups, spouse groups or meeting attendees.

Trips through Rocky Mountain National Park (an all-day venture that includes lookouts at 12,000 feet and numerous glacial lakes), or Boulder for eclectic shopping, are high on visitors’ lists.

The Colorado Convention Center (denverconvention.com) downtown debuted its expanded facilities in December 2004. The expansion added 292,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space, 35,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, a 50,000-square-foot ballroom, 5,000-seat lecture hall and 1,000-space parking garage. In all, it now has 2.2 million square feet of exhibit and meeting space. Of that, there is 584,000 contiguous sq. ft. of exhibit halls, 100,000 sq. ft. of meeting space in 62 meeting rooms, two ballrooms (50,000 sq. ft. and 35,000 sq. ft.) and the lecture hall. The new ballroom divides into 18 rooms with 120 different possible configurations.

The Denver Performing Arts Complex ( denvergov.org/dpac) sits between the Convention Center and the popular 16th Street Mall. The Arts Complex has 9,000 seats in eight theaters and is the largest such facility under one roof. Venues include the new Opera House, a concert hall, several theaters and a ballroom.

The Mart Complex includes the 12,000-square-foot Terrace Gardens with a four-story atrium and the 120,000-square-foot Expo Building (30,000 square feet column-free). The 65,000-square-foot Mart Pavilion is particularly suited for industrial shows, with reinforced concrete floors. The Plaza at the Mart is a 32,000-square foot, multi-tiered area well suited for staged presentations. The Forum Meeting Rooms range from 1,400 square feet to 19,500 square feet situated on two levels. The new Showroom Banquet Suite is targeted to smaller corporate meetings.

The city is fanatical about its sports teams, and that’s reflected in sports facilities that can double as special event venues. Invesco Field at Mile High (invescofieldatmilehigh.com)—home of the NFL’s Denver Broncos—has 10 private event spaces, both indoors and out.

The oldest microbrewery in the city, Wynkoop Brewing Co. (wynkoop.com), was started by now-mayor John Hickenlooper in 1988. Occupying the former J.S. Brown Mercantile Building in LoDo, it’s named for the region’s first sheriff. The brewery has one floor for billiards, another for its restaurant and another that’s a comedy club. Private groups of up to 600 are welcome.

Paramount Theater, built in 1930, is a newly renovated historic theater on the edge of 16th Street Mall that pays tribute to the Art Deco era. With just under 1,900 seats, it provides an elegant and intimate setting for corporate presentations, product launches or awards programs. It is operated by Pepsi Center (pepsicenter.com), which has its own special event facilities on the Club Level of the Denver Post Newsroom and the City Lights Pavilion, an outdoor amphitheater for up to 6,000.

Attendees might plan that trip to The Stanley Hotel (stanleyhotel.com) in Estes Park, the setting for Stephen King’s horror flick, The Shining, or add a day to explore the Rocky Mountain National Park.
But more than likely it will be the last sight of the Rocky Mountains standing tall and inviting that will bring them back again and again.

Once groups visit Denver, they’re likely to want to return. Planners can easily find new venues and attendees are sure to have a long list of ‘must-sees’ for future visits. Incentive planners might explore the surrounding mountain resorts. Others might look to Boulder or the southern Denver suburbs around the Denver Tech Center.

Getting There

Denver International Airport (www.flydenver.com) is served by 23 airlines and 130 destinations.

Not To Be Missed

Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre - (redrocksonline.com) One of the best concert venues in the nation.
Denver Art Museum - (mcartdenver.com)
LoDo - (lodo.org) Hip historic district.
16th Street Mall - Located the heart of the city, is a mile-long pedestrian area lined with cafes and shops.
Denver Museum of Nature & Science - (dmns.org) the fourth-largest museum of its kind in the nation.

What's New?

Mile-High News from Southwest | Southwest Airlines has expanded its Denver service with six new nonstop flights and two new desti...