Davis Center at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, courtesy Visit Eau Claire
Development on the fringes
For now, it appears most new conference hotel development will be on Eau Claire’s fringes, leaving the Ramada Inn Convention Center and its 24,000 square feet of meeting space as the only conference option downtown.
In August, a full-service, locally owned Holiday Inn will open south of town, at Interstate 94 near state Highways 53 and 93.
“It has been many years since a branded full-service facility has opened here,” said Becky Squires, general manager of the 130-room Holiday Inn Eau Claire South and general manager of the existing Holiday Inn near campus, which will be reflagged when the new hotel opens in August.
The new property has 3,500 square feet of meeting space, but it is better arranged than the slightly larger meeting space at the existing Holiday Inn, according to Squires.
Part of the new hotel’s draw will be the attached Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse, part of a Midwestern chain. The Eau Claire location will be the chain’s first franchised operation. Because both the new and old Holiday Inns have the same owners, the two hotels will work in tandem to accommodate larger conferences.
More in store for Metropolis
There’s also a chance the Metropolis will become more of a force in coming years. Among the plans being mulled by the resort’s local owners — one a contractor, the other a plumber — are a convention facility, another hotel, an expansion of Action City and a redo of the water park, according to general manager Benny Anderson.
Until then, Poeschel is just fine with the Metropolis as it is. Should her meeting size grow, her group could always spill over into space at Florian Gardens, an independent event center adjacent to the resort.
This year, she’ll put more of the resort to work for her attendees. Maybe it will be team building led by Mike McKinley, a local consultant who trades his services for go-kart rides for him and his family. Maybe it will be games of laser tag or go-kart time trials.
Whatever she opts for, Poeschel knows she’ll get the assistance she needs from the staff of the Metropolis and from John’s staff at Visit Eau Claire.
“Between the two, they made me look fabulous,” she said. “We found Eau Claire large enough to handle our group but small enough to give us personal attention.”
