Businesses reserving Lambeau’s new meeting rooms
Looking to conduct a special staff meeting they won’t soon forget? Or maybe a seminar or conference for your clients? How about an awards breakfast, luncheon or dinner?
Beginning this September, Lambeau Field in Green Bay will be more than just a football stadium. It will be a full-fledged meeting destination.
The Green Bay Packers are accepting reservations from businesses and organizations planning meetings, conferences and seminars this fall.
Dee Geurts-Bengtson, executive of special events for the Packers, is booking business and personal meetings, such as weddings, well into 2004.
So far, Geurts-Bengtson has booked 102 meetings, the bulk of which are from Brown County residents, companies and organizations.
However, several southeastern Wisconsin businesses also are reserving the Lambeau meeting space, she said.
"On our Web site, as of yesterday, we had 370 inquiries from all over the country," she said.
The largest of the meeting settings is the Lambeau Field Atrium, which is a focal point of the $295 million stadium renovation project. The atrium is a 365,000-square-foot, five-story structure located on the east side of the stadium.
The atrium has nearly 30,000 square feet of usable space that will accommodate 1,400 people for a reception or 790 people for a sit-down banquet.
However, the rejuvenated Lambeau also has smaller rooms that will accommodate groups as small as 30 people.
The in-season setup fees range from $5,000 for the entire atrium to $150 for half of a club-level room. Nonprofit organizations can reserve some of the rooms for a 15% discount from the regular fees.
The setup fees do not include food, which is catered by Levy Restaurants, a Chicago company that has hired full-time staff to work in Green Bay.
Lambeau’s food options for the meetings are numerous and diverse, ranging far afield from traditional stadium fare. For example, hot hors d’oeuvres range from spicy Hoisin pork to crab-stuffed crimini mushrooms.
Lambeau’s dining entrés feature plated meals and main courses, including "Taste of Italy," "Mexican Fiesta," "The All-American," "Summer Barbecue," "French Bistro," "Mardi Gras Bourbon Street," "Stations, Stations, Stations" and an assortment of breakfast and luncheon options.
The full main dinner courses range in price from $19.95 to $44.95 per person. Breakfast, brunch and luncheon options are cheaper.
Smaller groups will have the choice of meeting in any of four rooms in the Legends Club area. The rooms are named after legendary Packers Bart Starr, Johnny "Blood" McNally, Willie Davis and Paul Hornung.
One wonders if the late, great Packer coach Vince Lombardi could ever have envisioned business people dining on the likes of rumaki, stuffed Belgian endive or chocolate fondue in the shadows of his beloved frozen tundra.
"It’s going to be popular because of Lambeau. That’s the interest – just to be in this legendary Lambeau Field," said Geurts-Bengtson, who is the daughter-in-law of former Packer Coach Phil Bengtson.
The Lambeau Atrium and the meeting rooms will feature state-of-the-art technology, including Internet access and full audio and visual capabilities.
"The flexibility of the meeting space here is great. It’s just a great corporate meeting spot," Geurts-Bengtson said.
She hopes to book at least $1.4 million worth of annual business from the meetings.
"I certainly don’t foresee that there’s going to be any problem meeting that number," she said.
Because many of the meetings will be held by people, organizations and businesses from outside of Brown County, the new Lambeau events will be a boost for the county’s tourism industry, as many people will decide to spend the night in the area’s hotels, said Geurts-Bengtson, who formerly worked at the Green Bay Area Visitor & Convention Bureau.
Wells Fargo Bank is among the first to dive into the Lambeau meeting scene. The company plans to conduct a dinner and awards banquet for 250 people in March 2004.
The semi-annual employee recognition event is held in "special" places that the award winners might not otherwise experience, said Sue Keyser, regional marketing manager for Wells Fargo in Milwaukee.
"We really try to choose the venues of our events for our winners that are different, and Lambeau Field just jumped out at us," Keyser said. "We’re very excited about it."
Many of those award winners from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula will spend the night in Green Bay, Keyser said.
March 21, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
