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w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m M a y 2 0 14 • I nsIgh t | 29 i n s i g h t o n T O U R I S M & TEAM BUILDING B y N i k k i K a l l i o I f the recession was a roadblock to convention traffic, organizations and associations are now rolling over it or driving around it. Bookings are up and continue to look strong into 2015, tourism leaders say, and some foresee even more growth as venues expand. Green Bay "Every year it's getting better," says Beth Ropson, director of sales at the greater green Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau. "2014 looks good. I don't think we're back to where we originally were, but 2015 is going to be a very good year." ough construction on the new KI Convention Center addition won't be done until late summer or early fall, that's likely driving some of the bookings (see new north story, p. 10). "at's huge for us, because we really needed the additional meeting space or the square footage to accommodate so many groups that were looking to do something in green Bay," Ropson says. e completed Lambeau Atrium renovation will help draw visitors, and a planned update of the historic northland hotel in downtown green Bay will add more rooms for them, she says. "at's going to be awesome," Ropson says. "It's really exciting for green Bay to bring that venue back to its original state, because that was 'the place' in green Bay back then." Fox Cities In the Fox Cities, convention venues also are seeing strong bookings, says Pam seidl, executive director of the Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau. "We look at convention and sports sales together, and 2013 was sort of a record-breaking year for us," seidl says. "We booked over 59,000 hotel rooms for the future." numbers have increased steadily since 2010, seidl says. In 2009, at the onset of the recession, the Fox Cities booked about 32,000 hotel rooms. While convention bookings are oen cyclical, in 2013, the regional bureau saw a "perfect storm" of bookings, in which it secured the U.s. Youth soccer Midwest Region 2 Championships for 2015 and nCAA and WIAA baseball through 2018 and 2020 respectively, seidl says. e construction of an expo center attached to the Radisson Paper Valley hotel, a project that's been through some fits and starts, would bring in even more. e feasibility study on the project was being updated in April to reflect the market and demand changes in the past five years, seidl says. Oshkosh Oshkosh's 2013 also was a record year, says Wendy heilsberg, executive director of the Oshkosh Convention & Visitors Bureau. "We attribute that to all of the events that we host having significant attendance increases, or holding the same attendance as previous years," heilsberg says. "We landed the tough Mudder event in september. It was just a great event. And then our new downtown hotel opened, Let's meet again Convention bookings are on the rise at venues statewide [continued] » Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake is adding space to accommodate the growing needs of associations and organizations that wish to book the facility for conventions. c o u r t e s y o f o s t h o f f r e s o r t