A bleisure paradise
One contact. Three different conference experiences. Unlimited ways to experience The Biggest Little City in the World. The Row Reno (Silver Legacy Resort Casino, Eldorado Resort Casino and Circus Circus Reno Hotel & Casino) offers a convenient value play for planners looking for a home base to explore museums, nature, sports and history. It’s all Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) and Highway 80 friendly. I recently zipped up to take a closer look at a city I had visited many times early in my career and found even more to impress.
Meet & Stay
The Row Reno is a collection of more than 200,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, including Reno Events Center across the street and 4,000 guest rooms at a range of price points, most with city and snowy mountain-capped views. We visited and came away with these insider tips.
Read More: Reno/Tahoe: Where Adventure Meets Opportunity
Many of the distinctive and celebrity chef-led restaurants can be bought out for unique dining experiences beyond the 10,175-square-foot Crystal Ballroom. Also available is hip NoVi nightclub and a 500-seat showroom.
Across the street, National Bowling Stadium (the backdrop for the Woody Harrelson movie Kingpin) offers a 363,000-square-foot team-building playground. In addition to 78 lanes of gamesmanship, the Taj Mahal of tenpins features a speakeasy space with a stuffed bison head, tin ceiling and Brunswick memorabilia. Bonus: Tucked behind the aluminum geodesic dome is a movie theater for all your presentation needs.
Eat
With 25 restaurants, attendees can have a different experience for each meal. Host your executive dinner in the private dining room at Roxy’s Restaurant & Bar and ask for a tableside smoky old-fashioned or smoky mocktail.
If the group is more casual, the original Brew Brothers in Eldorado will name one of their microbrews for your company. A diverse menu and fun atmosphere keep the conversations light.
When attendees are set free for some me-time, arm them with a Midway Card to play camel races, space warp or centipede chaos and indulge at Hidden Pizza. I clearly need to work on my aim before returning to the balloon dart game.
Explore
Get off-site for a reception at National Automobile Museum (some of the collection carries the provenance of being part of William Fisk “Bill” Harrah’s assemblage). The Hollywood-themed cars make for fabulous Insta moments, and any of the vignettes can be rented out for a dinner. Ask about a reception on the patio overlooking the Truckee River.
Within walking distance of The Row is easy, breezy Greater Nevada Field (home of the Reno Aces minor league team). Suites offer a fun way to dine, mingle and cheer the night away. Ask the mascots Truckee and Archie to visit for photo ops.
Looking for a day trip that will put everything in perspective? Historic Virginia City is a beautiful half-hour Sprinter van ride into the past. The silver boomtown was the most prosperous city in the country in the 1870s when the Comstock Lode drew 25,000 people to the area. It now thrives by mining its historic roots. Come for the camel and outhouse races, Millionaire Club paranormal tours and Bonanza sets. Stay for the food, shopping and heartwarming stories.
Something to keep on your radar is The Neon Line District art installation of Burning Man statues from Jacobs Entertainment, part of a billion-dollar mixed-use development blocks from The Row. Already in place is J Resort, a 750-room art and entertainment-themed gaming property where Sands Regency previously towered over West Fourth Street. Still on the drawing board: a 4,000-seat showroom.
This article appears in the May/June 2025 issue. Subscribe to the magazine here.
