Colorado.

DENVER

Denver is in the midst of an amazing growth period, with $1.5 billion in new projects following the $6 billion in development that occurred during the 1990s. Much of the recent growth involves hotel developments, as 15,000 new hotel rooms have become available in recent years.

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A $40 million, 196-room J.W. Marriott Hotel opens this spring across from the Cherry Creek Shopping Center. The hotel features a dividable ballroom that can seat up to 300 people for meetings.

Last year, the 279-room Denver Marriott South opened with 12,000 square feet of meeting space. The city's largest hotel, the 1,225-room Adam's Mark Denver is located downtown and is in the midst of a multimillion dollar refurbishing of the 629 guest rooms in its tower building. The Adam's Mark offers 133,000 square feet of meeting space.

The city's largest new hotel project is the 1,110-room Hyatt Regency that will serve as the headquarters hotel for the Colorado Convention Center. When it opens in late 2005, the 37-story Hyatt will have ballrooms of 30,000 and 15,000 square feet. It will be located across the street from a light rail station and the convention center.

The Hyatt will complement the convention center's $300 million expansion that opens late this year. The center's expansion will double its contiguous exhibit space to 548,000 square feet. It also will add a 50,000-square-foot ballroom, 35,000 square feet of meeting space, a fixed-seat lecture hall that seats 5,000, and a 1,000-space parking garage.

A sixth runway opened last fall at the Denver International Airport, where development of a new, 518-room Westin Hotel also is under way. The hotel will offer 40,000 square feet of meeting space when it opens in late 2005.

Other significant developments include a $100 million upgrade of the Denver Zoo that opens this Memorial Day weekend and the $75 million restoration of the Denver Auditorium Theater.

VAIL

Vail has several new projects in the works that are adding facilities for meetings. Among the projects is a $46 million conference center to be built adjacent to the Lionshead Village area, a $500 million reconstruction project that includes a 100-room boutique hotel and 50,000 square feet of retail space. The new conference center, expected to be completed no later than 2006, will be within a brief walk of 1,250 lodging units. It is expected to include two 20,000-square-foot meeting rooms and two additional 5,000-square-foot event spaces.

Construction on a new Four Seasons Resort is expected to begin this spring. The resort, which could open as early as winter 2005, will include 118 guest rooms, condominium units, various retail and restaurant space, a spa, and conference facilities.

The $2.8 million Donovan Plaza debuted last fall with space for up to 200 people inside with an additional 3,040 square feet on an outdoor, heated terrace. The special events facility was designed to mirror traditional national park lodges.

Vail Resorts also is planning to redevelop the ski mountain's base area in Vail Village. Vail Resorts will create a more positive first impression for skiers on the base of the mountain by developing a new landscaped ski yard and community park that could be used for special events in the summer. The $75 million project may begin this spring and take two years to complete.