Courtesy Fox Cities CVB
A collaborative effort: Fox Cities
About 30 miles southwest of Green Bay is Appleton, one of 19 communities in the area that bills itself as the Fox Cities. All the towns are near the Fox River.
Why hold a meeting in the Fox Cities instead of Green Bay? “We’re definitely more affordable,” said Kelly Heckler, convention sales manager for the Fox Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau. “And the room tax is less — many groups like that.”
The location is a plus in other respects. “Appleton is right off Route 41, and many people in the state can get here within two hours,” said Mindy Lawson, director of sales for the Holiday Inn Appleton. The hotel has 226 recently upgraded rooms and 5,000 square feet of meeting space.
Plans to add a convention center to the Radisson Paper Valley, the area’s largest hotel with meeting facilities, in Appleton are “moving at a snail’s pace,” Heckler said.
In the meantime, the hotel’s 38,000 square feet of meeting space puts it at the top of the list for large events. The property is upgrading the furniture in its 388 rooms, and the lobby will get a makeover by the end of the year.
No major changes are planned for the Radisson’s Vince Lombardi’s Steakhouse, a joint project with Vince Lombardi Jr. “We have about 400 pieces of Lombardi’s personal memorabilia,” said Linda Garvey, area director of sales and marketing for the Radisson. “We even have the only replica of the Super Bowl I trophy.”
About 20 miles down U.S. Route 41 from Appleton, the town of Neenah has several conference hotels that attract corporate meeting business.
In the downtown district, the Holiday Inn Neenah has 13,000 square feet of meeting space.
The Best Western Premier Bridgewood Resort Hotel and Conference Center, closer to Route 41 but also in Neenah, opened in 2005. Nevertheless, owners invested a half-million dollars into the property to elevate it to the Premier status. “We already had a lot of the qualifications,” said general manager Bob Dove, “but we tweaked a little here and a lot there.”
The 95-room property has a 10,000-square-foot conference center.
For recreation, just look out the window at the nine-hole golf course. “We love to see our guests get out and play a round,” said Dove.
No matter where an event is held in Fox Cities, there’s much to do off-site.
“We are Wisconsin’s shopping place,” Heckler said. Fox River Mall has more than 180 stores, and Appleton and Neenah have quaint downtowns with boutiques, restaurants and nightlife.
Dove appreciates the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton. “It beats out Milwaukee and Madison for first showings in Wisconsin of Broadway shows,” he said. The facility’s private event space ranges from the 2,072-seat theater to the 1,265-square-foot Founders Room.
Lawson recommends a visit to the Paper Discovery Center, which pays tribute to the industry that fueled the area’s growth. The 19th-century building on the Fox River also has private event spaces.
The EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, which hosts the world’s largest fly-in each year, gives visitors a gander at more than 200 historic airplanes. Located on 1,600 acres, the museum has several event spaces, including a classroom and a computer lab, an indoor amphitheater and the Eagle Hangar, where up to 800 people can dine next to the towering planes.
The EAA Air Academy Lodge has 72 beds (a mix of bunkrooms and shared suites), a kitchen and a 10-person boardroom.
The Class A minor league Timber Rattlers play at the Time Warner Cable Field in Appleton and draw up to 4,000 fans per game, even in inclement weather, said Seth Merrill, director of group sales.
The baseball park recently added a new club level that seats up to 200 for meals. Many regular corporate visitors enjoy the “all you can eat” seating area near the first-base line. Groups can buy single tickets for that area, which gives them access to a buffet meal.
800-236-6673
www.foxcities.org
