Event planners have long admired mid-Michigan’s selection of diverse meeting space. From small meeting rooms and banquet accommodations at area hotels, to the huge column-free open space of the Lansing Center, the region offers many options to private and public sector clients.

Versatile convention and special purpose rooms dot the region, according to the Greater Lansing Convention & Visitors Bureau. Meeting planners can choose from hundreds of thousands of square feet of meeting space.

Among those sites is the James B. Henry Center for Executive Development, on Forest Road near the campus of Michigan State University. The James B. Henry Center, which opened in 2001 and is named after a former dean of the Eli Broad College of Business, houses MSU’s weekend MBA program and provides a professional environment for executive education and         corporate learning.

Featuring a Fortune 500 executive-style boardroom, tiered classrooms and enough high-tech devices for even the most tech-savvy among us, the James B. Henry Center is versatile enough to host everything from focus groups and team-building retreats to corporate educational meetings.

“We have a lot of corporations who do training and educational events here. Some of the local insurance companies in the region have made conscience decisions to put dollars into employee training and retention,” says Jeff Magnuson, manager of the James B. Henry Center.

The James B. Henry Center is a “unique conference center,” Magnuson says, with up-to-date  technology like video conferencing and Webcasting capabilities and over 1,700 Ethernet connections.

“Our technology is not bleeding edge though. It is very user friendly. It’s what might be found in most office environments today. We do have an information technology professional on staff to assist our clients with their presentations,” says Magnuson.

The facility, which overlooks Forest Akers West golf course, provides a complete integrated conference experience, according to David Frayer, director of executive development programs for the James B. Henry Center.

“We are a dedicated learning center, with the technology, recreational opportunities, world-class food service and meeting space to meet most everyone’s needs,” he says.

The James B. Henry Center is adjacent to the Candlewood Suites Hotel, which complements the integrated conference experience, Frayer adds.

With its educational focus and leadership from the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management, Frayer says some people think the James B. Henry Center is open only to MSU-affiliated groups.

“Obviously, we cater to the MSU family, but we also are open to other corporations, associations and groups. About 60 percent of our business is MSU related. The rest comes from outside the school,” Frayer says.

Lansing Center

If location is everything, as they say in real estate, then the Lansing Center is “right in the center of it all” just as their marketing campaign implies. Within view of the Capitol building and set along the banks of the Grand River, the Lansing Center can handle gatherings from 10 to 10,000 with over 100,000 square feet of exhibit and meeting space.

The Lansing Entertainment & Public Facilities Authority (LEPFA), a quasi-city government agency, manages the Lansing Center, which recently completed over $11 million in renovations.

“We replaced carpeting in the ballrooms and meeting rooms and did a lot of painting. But these were not just cosmetic changes. We added new electrical, updated HVAC, new sound systems, minimized sound penetration between rooms, and even added a new snow melt system,” says John Breslin, sales manager for LEPFA. “The facility is now more attractive and more usable for patrons.”

Attached to the Radisson Hotel via an enclosed walkway over the Grand River, the Lansing Center is the city’s largest convention center with a main exhibition hall, meeting rooms,  banquet facilities and a 500-space underground parking garage.

The Lansing Center is attractive for event planners from across the state seeking a centralized location for their event.

“Especially with the economy being as poor as it is, groups and associations are looking to cut travel time and travel budgets. Being located in the middle of the state is quite helpful to them,” Breslin says.

However, he added that delivery of services is the most important thing to their clients.

“We have taken on the attitude of a resort property. Hospitality has to be practiced and it has to be worked at. We have implemented training for our staff; we’ve had the Disney folks in to talk about customer service. It’s all about delivery of services. Once we have a client in for an event, we want them to keep coming back,” Breslin says.

The Lansing Center, which opened in 1987, is surrounded by much of the new development planned for the downtown riverfront area, including the Accident Fund’s redevelopment of the old Ottawa Power Station and the new Lansing City Market project.

“We are very excited about the projects downtown. We need more reasons for people to come downtown. That benefits us. We need attractions and destinations, along with specialty shops and new restaurants. These are all pieces to the puzzle,” said Eric Hart, president and CEO of LEPFA.

The Lansing Center’s largest event each year is the Lansing Boat and Fishing Show, Hart says, which     features boats, boating accessories and fishing tackle. Next year’s fishing show is scheduled for March 12-15.

Consumer shows across the country are down a bit.

“I think the uniqueness of the public show is not the same since the advent of the Internet. Convention centers, as a whole across the country, are struggling a bit. Our business is good right now partly because of the    versatility we offer,” Hart explains.

Competition among hotels and conference centers for event dollars is stiffer than ever. Meeting space is readily available, but many of the venues can only host small events, Hart notes.