Meeting at the crossroads: prime location and affordability bring shows and conventions to Indiana.

• Author: Copeland, Beth

From around the region and across the country, corporations and associations come to Indiana, the Crossroads of America, to hold their conventions, bringing with them a colorful mix of exhibits and attendees.

Throughout Indiana, showcased this year will be such things as crime-solving mystery writers, any kind of reptile you can imagine (and some you'd just as soon not), "Star Trek" fans in full Federation uniform, bridge players, cloggers, antique autos and more. All can be seen at a convention center near you.

Along with the unusual and interesting, conventions bring a strong economic boost to the state. Indianapolis alone draws nearly three-quarters of a million convention delegates a year, visitors who spend money on hotels, food, souvenirs and other items.

They choose Indiana for two basic advantages: cost and location. Says Heidi Mallin of the Indiana Convention Center & RCA Dome, "We have a better value in hotel costs, and we're a day's drive from over half the U.S. population."

Jim Yarnell, marketing director at the Grand Wayne Center in Fort Wayne, echoes her viewpoint. Fort Wayne, he says, is popular for regional conventions because "we're almost smack dab in the middle of the region." The location is so convenient that General Motors held its national shareholders meeting at the Grand Wayne Center two years ago.

Also in Fort Wayne is the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum and Expo Center. Its director of sales and marketing, Mark Chappuis, explains the draw this way: "We're three hours from 30 million people and two hours from major markets like Detroit, Chicago and Columbus." And not only are costs in Fort Wayne considerably less than in such traditional convention cities as New Orleans and Chicago, but some organizations would rather be away from the distractions of the big city.

In the northwest corner of the state, the Genesis Center in Gary enjoys the same type of advantage. The center is a mile from interstates 65, 80 and 94 and just a block from I-90, the Chicago skyway, making it about as accessible as a site could possibly be.

The Porter County Expo Center recorded 248 event days last year with such shows as the Northwest Indiana Ag Expo, Northwest Indiana Boat Show and the Dunes Gun and Knife Show. Reservations manager Judy Herzog says the breakdown of events shows heaviest activity in the area of business meetings and seminars.

Herzog says the Expo Center can handle events both indoors and outdoors, though only 18...