By Olive Juice Studios
Rochester Convention and Visitors Bureau
30 Civic Center Drive SE, Suite 200
Rochester, MN 55904
800-634-8277 or 507-288-4331
www.rochestercvb.org
What’s new: The city hopes to double the size of the Mayo Civic Center. Approval of the state legislature is required for the project, which would add a 40,000-square-foot ballroom, preconference space and breakout rooms.
Kudos: The latest in a string of awards is a Bicycle Friendly Community designation from the American League of Bicyclists. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance 2010 ranked Rochester sixth in its “Best Cities for the Next Decade.” Outdoor Life named it the “No. 1 Place to Live Like a King.” Rochester also made Forbes.com’s list of “Best Small Places for Business and Careers” in 2009.
Rooms: There are about 5,400 guest rooms in Rochester, and 2,041 of them are connected by skyway or pedestrian subway to the Mayo Civic Center.
Location: Rochester is in southeastern Minnesota, 76 miles southeast of the Twin Cities. It is 223 miles south of Duluth; 96 miles southwest of Eau Claire, Wis.; 287 miles northwest of Milwaukee; and 355 miles northwest of Chicago.
Getting there: The Rochester International Airport is eight miles south of downtown and offers up to 17 flights each day on Delta and American Airlines through Minneapolis, Chicago and Detroit. The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is 90 miles north. By car, Interstate 90 passes through Rochester; Interstate 35, which goes north to the Twin Cities, is west of downtown.
