September 2006
City Insider: Grand Rapids, MI

DeVos Place®
Most recent expansion: Completed in February 2005
Exhibit space: 162,000-square-foot exhibit hall, 40,000-square-foot ballroom
Meeting space: 26 sub-dividable meeting rooms with more than 32,000 square feet of space
Special features: 2,404-seat performing arts theater, accessible and spacious loading docks and on-site parking
Hotels: Downtown Grand Rapids features world-class hotels, including the four-star Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, which features Michigan’s only five-diamond restaurant, and the Midwest’s only JW Marriott, to be completed in 2007. More than 1,100 guest rooms are within walking distance of DeVos Place, and nearly 1,000 are accessible by skywalk.  

Visitor attractions
DeVos Place is located in the center of Grand Rapids’ vibrant downtown entertainment district, which features more than 50 restaurants and nightclubs, 4 museums and the 12,000-seat Van Andel Arena®. 

DeVos Performance Hall, located inside DeVos Place, is home to four performing arts groups, including the Broadway Theatre Guild, the Grand Rapids Ballet Company (Michigan’s only professional ballet company), Grand Rapids Symphony and Opera Grand Rapids. The hall also hosts touring events, including comedy, family shows and concerts.

Van Andel Arena, which is managed by SMG, is home to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins and the AFL’s Grand Rapids Rampage (ArenaBowl XV World Champions). The arena also hosts a variety of concerts, family shows and other sporting events.
The John Ball Zoo is home to more than 1,500 animals, including a troop of five chimpanzees, an aquarium and the only Komodo dragon in Michigan.

The 125-acre Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park features the monumental Leonardo da Vinci horse, indoor and outdoor gardens, Michigan’s largest tropical conservatory, nature trails and sculpture galleries, a world-class children’s garden and more than 130 world-class sculptures throughout the gardens. The lush sandy beaches of Lake Michigan are only a half hour drive from DeVos Place.

Making it easy to do business
Convenient location. DeVos Place is easily accessible from U.S. 131 and Interstate 196 and just a 20-minute drive from the Gerald R. Ford International Airport.
Airport shuttle. Air Porter provides shuttle service running every 30 minutes between the Gerald R. Ford International Airport and the downtown hotels, 365 days per year.  For more information, visit www.meetgrandrapids.org.
New on-site Business Center. The DeVos Place Business Center is open daily to provide services including Internet and computer services, copying, faxing, printing, office supplies, mail and delivery services, trade show products and many other concierge services.

Helping you draw attendees
• Big city sophistication with small-town virtues and a thriving economy makes Grand Rapids your ideal destination, combining big city attractions with friendly people, safe streets, minimal traffic and good old-fashioned Midwest values. 
 • Grand Rapids, which was named by Fortune magazine as one of the Top 10 Best U.S. Cities for Business, is headquarters to many national and multi-national corporations, including Steelcase, Herman Miller, Haworth, Alticor (formerly Amway), Wolverine World Wide and Meijer stores.
• Grand Rapids has won numerous awards, including: Most Livable City, named by Partners for Livable Communities in April 2004; America’s 6th Best Fishing City, named by Field & Stream magazine in July 2006; and 5th healthiest town for men, named by Men’s Health magazine.

Contact Us
SMG/DeVos Place
Steve Miller, Assistant General Manager
Phone: 616.742.6500
Fax: 616.742.6590
www.devosplace.org

For more information about Grand Rapids, visit www.meetgrandrapids.org.