CONVENTION CENTER SPECS
Contiguous exhibit space
• 623,000 square feet on the concourse
level, plus 100,000 more square feet on
the river level
Ballroom space
• 40,000-square-foot Grand Riverview Ballroom
Meeting space
• 200,000 square feet, including 100 breakout
and banquet spaces
Other spaces
• 30,000-square-foot, three-story glass atrium
Well fed With close to 100 new restaurants,
breweries, and distilleries opening in the last
two years, Detroit is on everyone’s hot list,
including Zagat’s ‘America’s Next Hot Food
Cities’ roundup, on which it ranked third..
$30-million renovation. The new Aloft Hotel at
The David Whitney, with more than 130 rooms
and eight meeting rooms, adds a boutique
option to the city’s accommodation package.
Many more new downtown hotels are also in
the planning stages.
Groups with a penchant for gaming will
find everything they need at one of Detroit’s
three Vegas-style casino hotels, each with
over 400 rooms. The MGM Grand Detroit
offers 30,000 square feet of total meeting
space, along with the only Forbes Travel
Guide Four-Star spa in Michigan. The Motor-City Casino Hotel has 67,000 square feet
of total meeting space, and the Greektown
Casino-Hotel, which has both ballroom and
meeting space, is in the heart of one of downtown’s most popular entertainment districts.
When it comes to dining, Detroit is stepping up its game. Everything from popups to
urban farms can be found downtown. Conde
Nast Traveler wrote about the city’s propensity for whiskey with its growing number of
distilleries, speakeasies, and whiskey bars; and
The New York Times and Anthony Bourdain’s
“Parts Unknown” both recently highlighted the
city’s move back to local influences, with close
to 100 restaurants influenced by Detroit’s vast
range of ethnicities opening within the past
two years.
For attendees who want to tack on a
leisure escape, The D is the place. Travel +
Leisure named it one of 50 best places to
travel in 2016, and with five distinct areas of
attraction — cars, culture, gaming, music, and
sports — every attendee can find something
to pique their interest. Some of Detroit’s newest attractions include downtown’s Outdoor
Adventure Center and new stores from John
Varvatos, Shinola, Carhartt, and Nike. The
Detroit Zoo’s new penguin exhibit, the Polk
Penguin Conservation Center, will open in the
spring of 2016, as will LEGOLAND Discovery
Center Michigan.
Detroit continues to evolve with new
public projects and revitalization. The M- 1 RAIL
streetcar project along Woodward Avenue
will connect key Detroit destinations within
downtown, Midtown, and New Center when
it begins running in 2017. Also scheduled to
open in 2017, The District Detroit will cover
50 city blocks, with a new ice-hockey arena
for the 11-time Stanley Cup–champion Detroit
Red Wings at the heart of the new develop-
ment. The walkable district will also have
space for new housing, retail, and dining.
As for getting to Detroit, Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) offers hundreds of
daily nonstop flights and has earned top
rankings in customer satisfaction. The airport
is a major hub for Delta, and Virgin Atlantic
recently became DTW’s newest airline. Most
suburban and city attractions are a 20-minute
drive away.
For more information: Detroit Metro
Convention & Visitors Bureau —
Keith Kirsten, Director of Sales; (313)
202-1938; kkirsten@meetdetroit.com;
meetdetroit.com
