I have been charged with putting together a team event (a sales team of 8 people ages 21-45) for my company. Coming from STL - Chicago immediately comes to mind. I have never been there (newly transplanted from LA).

Can anyone recommend any surprisingly fun corp/team type activities that they may have done in Chicago? We will be leaving on Friday and returning on Sunday - the date is not yet set (shooting for mid-late October).

This may seem like a fairly generic question, but I know that corp/group events and outings tend to be different than that of a casual traveler.

I don't mind looking up the info - just point me in the right direction.

Thank you.

Good idea, chicgal. I saw a group of people doing a scavenger hunt downtown last week and they seemed to be having fun. We did murder mystery dinner for a work outing once and it was fun. How about Tony & Tina's wedding? Never have been but heard it is fun and it is interactive. Blue Man Group is alot of fun with a group but not sure if it is what you are looking for as a "team" event

I must admit - I never thought of a scavenger hunt. I guess it would be geared toward finding/gathering items at the well-known attractions?

By the way, this "team" event isn't the cheesy team-building kind, it's more of a morale booster and reward for hard work.

I saw an advertisement for chartering a trolley for a tour, pub crawl, dinner, etc. Not sure how that type of thing would be.

Would really like to find an upscale place with a great view for dinner on Saturday night - something equivalent to Seattle's Space Needle (view-wise).

Jennni -- I went to Chicago for a sales meeting a few years back. Stayed at the "W" Hotel, my company made sure we all had rooms overlooking the Lake, very nice touch. For our group activities...

Night 1st day: dinner at that famous pizza place with all the graffiti on the walls. Can't remember the name...

Afternoon 2nd day: Cubs game -- it was so much fun to have everything taken care of (we had our own waiter-type guy to get us food/drinks). It was such a Chicago thing to do.

Night 2nd day: Dinner on our own. We were all pretty exhausted with being with each other by that point, so we all split up into group and decided where we wanted to go -- the conceriege at the W set up all our dinner reservations, very helpful. Not sure if you can do that with a group of 8 though. We ended up at a famous steakhouse (again, the name escapes me, darn it!), so we ended up with pizza & beer one night, and steak & red wine the next.

Night 3rd day: ESPN Sports Zone. They gave us each a card with $$ and let us loose. It was fun to blow off steam at the end of the trip by racing cars and playing video games.

Good luck!

Oh -- I forgot one more thing. I met up with my aunt/uncle (who also happened to be in town on biz the same week I was), late one night and went to a Jazz/Blues club/bar/resturant. That was another fun, Chicago-ean (is that a word?!) thing to do. Of course, can't remember the name...I'm so bad at that.

Perhaps some Chicago-eans can help out here...(and also tell me the right spelling, apologizes for that)!!

Senaca girl, the pizza place is Gino's East that you are thinking off. Other things that my employer has done for outings are the Architechure boat cruise, dinner at Riva on Nave Pier (which has a beautiful city view if you get the right table). Not likely that you'll be seeing baseball here in October but maybe check the Bears schedule if you are interested in a sporting event, or maybe Second City?

Mid October, the Cubs may be in full playoff swing. A rooftop would be very cool and very Chicago. For a playoff game, it would cost $250-$300 per, food and booze included (www.beyondtheivy.com).

Check out the world famous Second City comedy club as well. They have free improvs after shows on the weekends, and I believe they have team building events as well.

Also, Charlie Trotters has private cooking "lessons" in his world famous restaurant. Don't know details, but had a friend 'win' a day in a silent auction. It would be a really big deal, probably months in advance to reserve, but worth checking out.

As far as restaurants with a view, check out NoMi in the Park Hyatt (7th floor). Gorgeous views of the Water Tower and up and down Michigan Avenue (NoMi is shorth for North Michigan). Also, Spiagga looking onto Oak St. North Pond Cafe has beautiful views of Lincoln Park (the actual park). The trees should be pretty that time of year as well.

Just some thoughts...

Kristy, what an optimist you are! But the way the Cubs are playing, it would be a miracle!

Hello All - thank you for the excellent ideas and details. I'm sure that once I research them a little I will have more (specific) questions. This is definitely a great start though!

SenecaGirl--

We're Chicagoans!

Whirly Ball !!!!

This is a great team event. http://www.whirlyball.com/

Ride around in bumber cars and with a scoop that picks up and throws a whiffle ball into a goal. Truly a fun experinance - with an open bar available

You can book a group tour on one of the water tour boats - goes down river, out on lake (or both). Just make sure it's a boat with a large indoor section since October could be chilly. I just went on a sunset lake boat tour this week while in Chicago ... very nice. Great views of the shoreline with skyscrapers, and on Sat the boat trip ends watching the fire works at the Navy Pier. I'm sure you can arrange for bar and cocktails on these trips.

I second the suggestion that dgruzew made. My youngest son has his bachelor party at whirlyball just this June. They had a couple of limo-bus vehicles take all from best man's house- so no one needed to drive. Guys had a blast, and are still talking about their "strategies."

Great fun, plus you would be able to do the team thing extremely well. It's kind of unique. Not as messy as the indoor paint ball places- either.

My research is underway - there certainly is a lot to read. I emailed the Whirlyball folks - they seem to be geared for larger groups but I'm sure they could work with us. It is definitely a fun/funny option.

As for the restaurant - I looked up NoMi and I have to say this is way too hoity-toity for the STL tastebuds. These people are beefeaters, and not beef with strange sauces or reductions!!! After all, Bud-light is the drink of choice in this area. They would even consider martinis to be exotic!! (hee hee)

Any recommendations for a restaurant with that great view BUT with a more common menu? Steak, lobster, hot dogs (just kidding) would be perfect.

Thanks!!

Gibsons is the best Steak in the city( many say the country) but it does not have much of a view(unless you count the celberties that sometimes hang out at the bar), but company outings are common for this place
http://www.gibsonssteakhouse.com/

Smith and Wollensky (another Steak place) has a view of the river and is very good as well (but no gibsons)
http://www.smithandwollensky.com/Chicago.asp

Spaggia is an amazing italian with a decent view
http://www.levyrestaurants.com/levy/...4/spiaggia.htm

the signature room on the 95th floor has a great view, but I am not a huge fan of the food. If you don't want to eat they have a lounge on the 94th floor with amazing views
http://www.signatureroom.com/

Riva on Navy pier (steak nad seafood place) has a nice view , the food is good (but for chicago it is a little below the bar)
http://www.stefanirestaurants.com/riva.htm

Unfortuanlaty most the other restruants in chicago "with a view" are pretty "hoity-toity" (everest comes to mind)

but there are some many good resturants in the city. the restruant scence in chicago is one of the best in the country (just a step behind NY or SF- some may say it is even on par)

Check out thes websites

http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/dining/

http://www1.chicagoreader.com/cgi-bin/rrr/form.cgi

Maybe the key to dinner would be going to the "view" place for drinks/appetizers, then off to another restaurant for food.

The cruise definitely sounds nice - will check that out.

The whirly ball rep recommended that we just reserve an hour of court time and run a tab at the bar/restaurant. That would probably be a fun Sunday activity before we head home.

How about the city tours? Aside from the sometimes cheezy humor, they are often pretty informative. Is there one company that outshines the rest?

When we had relatives in town, we took the Duck Boat tour and thought it was fun. It drives through River north and down Lake Shore Drive before going in the water at Monroe Harbor and tooling around in the water by the big yachts.

Chicgal - the spooky side would definitely be an interesting twist if we decide to push the trip into the end of October.

I really want to go sooner (need a good dose of a new city) but sales is such a roller coaster that it's hard to pinpoint it just yet.

Swalter - that was something I had been curious about: Duck Boats. If my memory serves me correct - those are from WWII?