That's the enviable position the Davis Conference Center and Hilton Garden Inn are in, after hosting the Southern Utah University players last weekend.
"Their coach and coaching staff were amazed" at the facilities, says Susan Cross, Conference Center sales manager. "They said they've never experienced anything like we had."
"It was very nice; they did a really good job," said football coach Jared Martin. He credited Cross with wooing the team to her new job venue. "She did it right. The food was awesome, the chef did a great job for the price.
"Most of our kids said that was probably the best place they'd ever stayed, and the best food they've ever had. Everybody who worked there was awesome. "We'd love to stay there again,"Martin said, adding, "I'd recommend it. They did a good job."
That's the kind of response that Conference Center and Davis County officials are hoping to receive tonight at the facility's opening gala. Some 700 area dignitaries are expected to attend the special reception and dinner, followed by a concert by noted artist Peabo Bryson.
Next week, the Conference Center will officially get under way with dedication/ribbon-cutting ceremonies set for Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 2 p.m. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the LDSChurch Council of the Twelve will offer remarks and a dedicatory prayer, County Commissioner Dannie Mc-Conkie and Layton Mayor Jerry Stevenson will speak, among others.
A public open house will be held until 8 p.m. that evening.
In the meantime, center officials are working to ensure that guests continue to enjoy the experience, as did the SUU football team. Although the players were on a "limited menu" to meet their athletic regimen, the center's chef prepared versatile meals that still fit within their menu scheme, Cross says.
"The food was so marvelous,"the coaches and players said. For instance, rather than the traditional grilled chicken breast, they dined on garlic roasted chicken with an extra vegetable medley.
"The chef created a little more variety. The team was very pleased, and their win over Weber State didn't hurt,"Cross said.
A host of other events are planned in the coming weeks and months. A lot of state government and business groups are set to hold meetings there, including the Davis School District, Utah Environmental Health, and the Governor's Conference on Disabilities, which will draw several hundred.
Columbus Day will see the first political debate hosted by the Conference Center, as gubernatorial candidates Jon Huntsman Jr. and Scott Matheson Jr. go at it. About 200 are anticipated for that event, with a similar number expected at a joint Davis and Ogden/Weber chambers of commerce Women in Business gathering Oct. 14, Cross says.
The Layton Christian Academy will hold its auction there Oct. 29, while the Northern Utah Square Dancers are set to converge on the facility in November.
Other events range from a Crime Prevention conference to several wedding fairs set to to run throughout the fall and winter months. The State Office of Education is booking a Nov. 19-20 event for 500 people, Cross says.
In addition, several Freeport Center businesses are planning meetings there and, come late November and into December, many area businesses and groups are holding their holiday parties at the facility.
"The support fromDavis County has been overwhelming,"she says. "They believe in us. We want to provide a product they can be proud of. Many ski groups are booking, like student groups, generally from private schools, from the United Kingdom," Cross says.
"They will generally be here a full week, use the Conference Center for meals (and lodging), go to Powder Mountain or Snowbasin, then do evenings at the area movie theaters, the mall. Around 250 will be coming" in that first wave, with more anticipated.
May will see the Davis School District, while the Davis County Medical Society, and Salt Lake Catholic Diocese Women are both scheduling events there.
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