Wisconsin’s Best Big Meeting Venues Offer Event-Planning Ease

By Maura Keller | Photography © The Osthoff Resort

Planners will find a wealth of memorable venues that can accommodate larger capacity needs. What’s more, the beauty of a larger resort destination is that it can often satisfy a long list of meeting needs all in one location with an experienced team of event professionals ready to help.

Check out these five large-scale venues around the state for your next large group.

The Osthoff Resort: Meeting Magnificence

Imagine a large-scale reception and dinner on the lakefront or on the lawn, overlooking pristine Elkhart Lake, enjoying the beautiful natural amenities while playing outdoor games or cozying up around a bonfire.

“Guests can stay, meet, dine, network and enjoy activities without having to be transported anywhere else,” says Tracie Toth, CMP, sales director at The Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake. “Our goal is to make things easy for your planning and create wonderful memories for your guests to talk about for years to come.”

The Osthoff Resort’s beautifully appointed conference center offers the venue’s largest spaces, which flow ideally to accommodate a general session, meals and breakouts for groups of many sizes. “About 150 to 250 attendees is our sweet spot for groups who also require overnight accommodations and have large space needs,” Toth says.

The Osthoff’s most spacious ballroom is the Grand Libelle, boasting more than 10,000 square feet of flexible space, with an adjacent registration office and parlor. Even the Grand Libelle foyer is magnificent, overflowing with natural light and beautiful features. The resort’s Palm Garden Ballroom offers more than 7,500 square feet of flexible space. In between the two ballrooms is the 2,400-square- foot Villa Gottfried Room that evenly divides — ideal for breakout sessions — and offers an attached parlor with a fireplace that is great spot for welcoming and connecting.

Away from the hustle and bustle of Osthoff’s conference center, the resort boasts additional meeting space including the 3,600-square-foot Elkhart Lake Ballroom and the 1,600-square- foot Crystal Lake Room, offering natural light and patios. This is a bonus for smaller meetings or if a group has breakout sessions that prefer to be away from the main group. Lastly, The Osthoff Resort has two boardroom spaces for groups of 16 or less. The total meeting and function space at The Osthoff Resort adds up to 38,000 square feet.

“Groups find our location helps them increase attendance and is centrally located between many business hubs in Wisconsin, including Milwaukee, Green Bay, the Fox Cities and Madison,” Toth says. “A large part of bringing teams together is for camaraderie, fun, wellness and a focus on retaining employees. Our experienced planners can help you find an activity to meet your objectives.”

Kalahari Resorts & Conventions: Expansive Customization

Kalahari Resorts & Conventions, located in Wisconsin Dells, offers a unique all-under-one-roof group experience. The property provides 212,000 square feet of customizable meeting spaces, including three ballrooms, four luxury boardrooms and 47 meeting rooms. The convention center also provides enough exhibit space to hold more than 750 booths. Furthemore, according to Kyra Popp, corporate director of sales, with more than 790 guest rooms ranging in size and amenity levels, the Kalahari has the accommodations to fit any group size.

“The resort’s expansive convention space is customizable and can be set up for each event’s needs,” Popp says. “From large meeting spaces to a variety of breakout room styles, each arrangement can be curated and designed to optimize each group’s unique needs.”

The resort is also home to Wisconsin’s largest indoor waterpark fea- turing thrilling water slides, a lazy river, FlowRider (a virtual wave surf simulator), private cabanas, adult swim-up bars and more. During the summer months, attendees can also enjoy Kalahari’s 77,000-square-foot outdoor waterpark with additional water slides, a lazy river, pools, bars, and ZanziBAR for food, private cabanas and poolside lounging areas.

During free time, meeting and event attendees can check out Tom Foolerys Adventure Park, a 110,000-square-foot indoor adventure center featuring a six-story, indoor Ferris wheel, go-karts, rides, es- cape rooms, a full-size bowling alley, a ropes course, mini golf and dozens of arcade games.

Spa Kalahari & Salon has packages to pamper the entire team, and there are multiple opportunities and spaces for team building through- out the waterpark and inside Tom Foolerys. In fact, many of these spaces can be reserved to create a private unforgettable experience.

Brookfield Conference Center: Accessible Space for All

The Brookfield Conference Center is situated along I-94 between Milwaukee and Madison, 15 minutes from Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport. The center boasts two indoor spaces — the Connect Ballroom, which offers 18,000 square feet of multi-use space, and the Collaborate Ballroom, which features 6,000 square feet. The glass-encased Celebration Atrium offers an additional 8,000 square feet of awe-inspiring space.

“We do events of all sizes and styles — from large-scale galas with over 800 attendees to small board meetings of six people,” says Nancy Justman, MSM, CDME, president and CEO at Visit Brookfield.

The attached Hilton Garden Inn Milwaukee and the Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield, offer ample lodging for large groups, and there are 11 hotels with 1,800 rooms available within a mile of the Brook- field Conference Center.

“We also have full-service on-site food and beverage as well as a team of event professionals to ensure success,” Justman says. “We work closely with our local convention and visitors bureau (CVB) to provide attentional services such as helping to plan and coordinate activities, transportation and other amenities.”

KI Convention Center: State-of-the-Art Seamlessness

Owned by the city of Green Bay, and managed and operated by the Hyatt Regency Green Bay, the KI Convention Center is located in the heart of a very walkable downtown Green Bay and teeming with Midwest hospitality. The convention center recently underwent an expansive renovation, resulting in a state-of-the-art facility experi- ence for attendees, vendors and meeting planners alike.

“The KI Convention Center is a meeting planner’s dream,” says Tracy Hillesheim, sales director at the Hyatt Regency Green Bay. “With over 100,000 square feet of meeting and pre-function space, the KI Convention Center can host a wide variety of events.”

Since the convention center is attached to the Hyatt Regency Green Bay, a 241-all-suite hotel, attendees can take the elevator “home” after a day filled with training, networking or social gatherings.

“With our room-to-space ratio, this venue is the perfect location for some of those more space-intensive groups,” Hillesheim says. The convention center features 35,000 square feet of exhibit space, as well as a maximum of 19 breakout rooms, which can seat 15 to 1,800 people. The largest meeting room accommodates 3,640 people.

In addition, with an in-house audiovisual company, ample parking and catering handled by the adjacent Hyatt Regency Green Bay, any large-scale event can be a seamless experience from start to finish.

Alliant Energy Center: Versatile Variety

The Alliant Energy Center in Madison has become the go-to venue for large-scale events. From concerts to conventions to trade shows and sporting events, the center offers a wealth of different venues to accommodate large groups.

The versatile campus and multi-purpose center is located on more than 164 acres and includes a 10,000-seat coliseum, a 255,000-square-foot exhibition hall, an outdoor venue with the capacity to host large-scale events, as well as a pavilion that is suitable for a variety of functions. The expansive grounds allow for outdoor gatherings of all sizes. More than 5,600 parking spaces, with additional overflow parking, are available.