Wildlife and Cowboys
Wichita
Off-site venues in Wichita allow groups to experience a full range of activities. Tanganyika Wildlife Park, located 15 minutes west of downtown, is home to more than 300 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. At this interactive park, guests can hop on a guided tour, feed the giraffes or rhinos, and play with the lemurs on Lemur Island.
“It’s one of only two places in the nation where you can have this level of interaction with wildlife,” said Maureen Hofrenning, vice president of sales for Visit Wichita. “From black-footed penguins to white Bengal tigers, we have some of the world’s most rare and endangered animals.”
In the evening, the park can open exclusively for groups, depending on their size. The Tanganyika Center Serengeti room and veranda overlooks the striking landscape, and its 4,325 square feet accommodates up to 400 people. Two smaller rooms have capacity for 100 to 125 people apiece. Animal ambassadors can be brought into a meeting or banquet to liven up any event. Visit Wichita can coordinate catering.
Groups encounter the American West at the Prairie Rose Chuckwagon Supper, located on 77 acres of ranchland 15 minutes northeast of Wichita. Events include the Prairie Rose Rangers Western stage show, an all-you-can-eat cowboy meal of smoked brisket and the Silver Screen Cowboy Museum. Bar 20 Theater seats up to 150 with classroom, stage and meeting capabilities. Four additional meeting rooms include the Opera House, with nontraditional seating for 300, and the Cassoday Room, which seats 200 for a banquet or chuckwagon supper.
The 1870s have been re-created at Wichita’s Old Cowtown Museum. On 23 acres, the 54 historic buildings were moved from sites in Kansas and Wichita. Costumed re-enactors — dressed as buffalo hunters, traders, blacksmiths and farmers — portray life on the frontier, when cattle were driven up the Chisholm Trail from Texas. One of Cowtown’s five meeting venues, the Great Room in the Visitor Center, features a timber ceiling and a magnificent fireplace, plus an outdoor patio and porch overlooking the Arkansas River; it has capacity for 200 seated or 400 for a reception.
“Wichita was originally a cow town, so it’s a wonderful way to connect with our Western heritage,” said Hofrenning. “Groups can rent an individual historic building or the entire museum, and Cowtown offers an a la carte menu for groups who want to include reenactors or interpreters.”
Kansas Speedway
Kansas City
Groups that love the roar of an engine will want to head out to the Kansas Speedway. Located 15 miles west of downtown Kansas City, the speedway offers tours for behind-the-scenes views of racing at the 1.5-mile tri-oval racetrack, Victory Lane; the garages; and the infield.
Races are scheduled throughout the year. The track seats more than 72,000 people on 1,200 acres of usable land. Event space includes suites, a media center, garages and the infield. The Kansas Speedway staff can plan an event that ends in Victory Lane. Pit row is a popular evening space for receptions or dining. Suites in a wide range of sizes can accommodate 12 to 86 people.
During race weekends, premier open-air hospitality can be arranged at Hospitality Village. Trackside chalets overlook turns one and two and are customizable for 50 to 1,000 guests. The package includes guided prerace garage and pit tours, closed-circuit television featuring live race coverage, and food and beverage catered through Americrown. Grandstand tickets are required for each guest.
When races are not in session, the Richard Petty Driving Experience puts speedway visitors in a NASCAR stock car for eight to 80 laps or riding shotgun in a two-seat stock car driven by a professional instructor. The Exotic Driving Experience features supercars by Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Audi and Nissan-like James Bond 007.
“On non-race weekends, groups can opt for the tour and Richard Petty Driving Experience that we offer year-round,” said special events manager for Kansas Speedway Amber Shobe. “Depending on how big the group is and how many times they want to go around the track, we can offer between 500 to 1,000 rides during the day.”
Webster Conference Center
Salina
For top-notch team-building exercises, groups compete at the Challenge Course situated on 225 acres, with 80 acres of timber and a river that crisscrosses the facility. Challenge course facilitators are certified and go through intense training and annual recertification. Exercises on the 16 low-ropes elements and the seven high-ropes elements can be tailored to your group.
Other outdoor activities include a 10-acre lake with a boat dock and a sand beach. An additional five-acre lake offers canoes and paddle boats. Nature trails, disc golf, a swimming pool, open fields for outdoor games, lighted sand volleyball and basketball courts, and archery and target ranges are all available.
“Webster Conference Center specializes in leadership training through their staff, the venue features and natural setting, which all help to create an environment for a unique team-building experience,” said director of Visit Salina Sylvia Rice.
Meeting space includes a 500-seat chapel with audiovisual capabilities, 11 meeting rooms and a warming kitchen. The dormitory, main lodge and Activity Center house a total of 16 meeting rooms and a high school regulation gym floor measuring 29,000 square feet. Sleeping capacity for 450 people is on-site in the dormitory, the chapel, the main lodge and a six-room hotel. Dining facilities include a 275-seat hall in the main lodge.
