Smart Meetings

The Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority (RSCVA; visitrenotahoe.com) recently developed the slogan “America’s Adventure Place” to bring attention to the outdoor activities available in the area. Located about four hours east of San Francisco, in northern Nevada, Reno has quick access to the ski resorts around Lake Tahoe in the winter, and golf, river rafting and an array of mountain activities in the summer.

Reno has not (yet) crossed the threshold into hyper-luxury as the Las Vegas Strip casinos have, so rooms and other costs tend to be considerably lower. Plus, with 1.2 million sq. ft. of meeting space (and growing), the city is more than capable of handling groups of any size.

Downtown Reno is marked by a cluster of tower casinos around the city’s version of the “Strip,” a.k.a. South Virginia Street. Major meetings venues include the Reno-Sparks Convention Center and the National Bowling Stadium (visitrenotahoe.com). The downtown area is currently undergoing a bit of an overhaul to make it more pedestrian-friendly. The town of Sparks is adjacent to Reno; the two are nearly indistinguishable from the ground, except for the casinos. The north shore of Lake Tahoe is located only about thirty minutes from Reno.

If the idea of Reno intrigues you, the RSCVA is a great place to start your planning, which has a cool interactive guide for planners (as well as PDF versions) full of services and other useful information.

The Nevada Museum of Art (nevadaart.org) would be an unexpected but inspired choice for a stylish event. The Museum has three floors of art exhibits for a group to peruse. Volunteer docents can lead group tours of featured exhibitions or the permanent collection for a group fee of $25 with a $1 discount per person. The museum can also serve as a meeting and events site with amenities and service for groups from 30 to 500. Catering is provided by the on-site Café Musée. (cafemusee.com)

The impressive Stremmel Gallery (stemmelgallery.com) showcases exhibits from a variety of artists and offers group tours. The May Museum, Arboretum and Botanical Gardens (maycenter.org), which feature animal trophies and artifacts from the 40 globe-traversing trips of Wilbur D. May, have a variety of facilities for rent. Notable is the 1,700-square-foot Garden Court with cascading waterfalls and plants. Gardens are available for rental from mid-April through October. The larger gardens are rented in conjunction with either the Ranch House or the May Museum. Smaller gardens, which accommodate groups of fewer than 25 people, are available without renting a building. The Lear Garden, which can accommodate groups up to 150 people, is available with or without a building.

The National Automobile Museum (automuseum.org) houses more than 200 cars from the 1890s to the present. Featured vehicles include the 1907 Thomas Flyer, winner of “The Great Race” from New York to Paris, as well as a 1910 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost Tourer, and a 1936 Mercedes Benz 500K Special Roadster. The Museum’s period street scenes make for an intriguing meeting or event location. There’s 105,000 square feet available for groups of up to a few hundred guests for everything from cocktails to multi-course, sit-down dinners.

The Truckee Riverwalk (visitrenotahoe.com), a walkway of marble, granite and bronze, lines the banks of the Truckee River as it flows through downtown Reno. Flanking the walkway is an open-air gallery with sculptures depicting Nevada’s wildlife. The River Walk is a focal point for many downtown activities. On the third Saturday of each month, Riverwalk merchants open their doors and pour free samples of wine during the Wine Walk.

For a great spousal activity near downtown, the Nothing To It Culinary Center (nothingtoit.com) offers hands-on and demonstration cooking classes for the home chef. In addition, the center features a Napa-style gourmet deli and a kitchen store with a wide variety of ingredients, kitchen tools and accessories for the everyday cook. Classes are available for visitors by calling in advance.

While most of the casinos in town have high-quality entertainment, including many big-name acts, the city also has some simpler options that can be pleasantly surprising. The Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts (pioneercenter.com) for example, is home to a Broadway series as well as Magic Underground (magic.pioneercenter.com) presented in an intimate theater setting. This is one of only two theaters in the United States devoted entirely to magic.

Golf can certainly be part of a Reno meeting. Forty-three public golf courses and seven private courses are located within 90 minutes of the airport. Fishing in the nearby lakes and mountain rivers is another excellent summer activity.

And in the winter, the same 90-minute geographic arc encompasses about 22,000 acres of great ski terrain at 18 ski resorts. Non-skiers can choose from among the many winter offerings of Tahoe including sleigh rides and snowshoeing, all within easy access of Reno. Closer to “home,” Reno has an ice rink located right downtown.

Frankly, the list of activities possible in Reno goes on and on (hot air ballooning, kayaking, etc.), so rest assured no one is likely to be bored.

Top area hotels include: The Atlantis Casino Resort (AtlantisCasino.com); the Grand Sierra Resort (grandsierraresort.com); Harrah's Reno (harrahs.com); John Ascuaga's Nugget Casino Resort (janugget.com); The Peppermill (peppermillreno.com); Reno Retreats, LLC (renoretreats.com); Siena Hotel Spa Casino (sienareno.com) and The Silver Legacy (silverlegacyreno.com).

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Getting There

the Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO; renoairport.com) offers 180 daily flights, with nonstop daily flight service from 19 cities, plus one-stop schedules from 19 more. Back to Top

What's New?

Reno-Sparks Completes Plaza Plan | The Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority recently announced the completion of the $2.37-...

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