Like the mighty Mississippi that rolls down its eastern border, Missouri is on the move. From downtown transformations in its two largest cities to new convention offerings in its entertainment mecca of Branson, the state is reinventing itself as a meetings destination.
Downtown St. Louis is in the midst of an urban renewal—to the tune of development projects totaling $3.3 billion, and Kansas City is pouring $4.2 billion into a downtown renaissance. Meanwhile, Branson is preparing to debut a new convention center as part of a lakeside retail, dining and entertainment district this summer, while other destinations throughout the state are unveiling new hotels and cultural attractions.
St. Louis
Especially significant in St. Louis’ renewal plans, according to Donna Andrews, spokesperson for the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission, is Lumiere Place, the 200-room, $430 million hotel and casino being developed by Pinnacle Entertainment at the historic Laclede’s Landing on the waterfront and scheduled to open at the end of the year.
“This high-end gaming facility with a spa and direct access to the convention center allows us to attract different kinds of groups than in the past,” Andrews says, adding that high-end corporate groups and board meetings are among the new target markets.
The further development of Washington Avenue, once one of the nation’s major centers for the shoe and garment industry, into a loft district with restaurants and art galleries further boosts the area’s appeal.
“When people leave the convention center, they want to walk somewhere, and now they can,” Andrews says.
Washington Avenue is just two blocks from the America’s Center convention complex, with 502,000 square feet of exhibit space, 83 meeting rooms, an IACC-certified conference center, a 1,411-seat theater, and the Edward Jones Dome. There are 7,600 hotel rooms within a mile of the convention complex.
Among the city’s popular meetings properties are Hyatt Regency St. Louis, the Adam’s Mark St. Louis and the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, all of which have recently finished renovations; the Renaissance Grand Hotel; the Millennium St. Louis Downtown; the Hilton St. Louis Downtown; the Sheraton City Center St. Louis; and the Westin St. Louis. There are also two comprehensive meeting facilities on the campus of Washington University: the Charles F. Knight Executive Education Center and the Eric P. Newman Education Center.
St. Louis is particularly popular for groups whose members want to bring their families, as it offers a multitude of free attractions, including the St. Louis Zoo and the St. Louis Science Center in Forest Park.
A new attraction in west St. Louis County, the Grand Prix Speedways, offers conference and banquet facilities, indoor go-cart racing and team-building events.
The far-western suburb of St. Charles is noted for its historic downtown, which includes the building that housed Missouri’s first capitol, now a museum, and a 13-block main street lined with shops, antique stores and restaurants. The city can handle groups of up to 3,000 people in its 154,000-square-foot convention center, with an adjoining 296-suite Embassy Suites hotel.
Later this year, the Ameristar Casino St. Charles plans to unveil a $240 million expansion that includes a 400-room hotel and a 55,000-square-foot conference center.
Kansas City and Environs
Not to be outdone by St. Louis, Kansas City, part of a greater metro area that also includes Kansas City, Kan., and Overland Park, Kan., has several major downtown development projects in the works.
The impetus for these projects was the Flaspohler Study in 2001 and 2004, which interviewed 1,000 meeting planners, says Bill Bohde, vice president of convention sales and services for the Kansas City Convention and Visitors Association.
“Kansas City came up short in several areas,” Bohde says, adding that the city began planning improvements as it realized it needed to remain competitive with St. Louis, Indianapolis, Louisville, and Denver.
The new developments are beginning to come to fruition. In April, the Kansas City Convention Center unveiled its new 46,000-square-foot ballroom, the centerpiece of a major renovation and expansion of the facility. Meanwhile, the Sprint Center Arena, which will host sports events and concerts, is set to open this fall, and the $326 million Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, with 1,800-seat and 1,600-seat halls, will open in 2009.
Adding to the attractiveness of Kansas City is the $850 million Power and Light District—with entertainment, retail, dining, and nightlife venues—which will begin opening this fall and be completed by March 2008. Within the district, Kansas City Live, an outside amphitheater accommodating up to 10,000 people, will be the site of more than 100 free concerts from April through October, and the venue will be available for group rental.
In addition to three major convention hotels—the Kansas City Marriot Downtown, which is in the midst of a major renovation, the Hyatt Regency Crown Center and the Westin Crown Center—there are two new additions. The historic Hilton President Kansas City, which originally opened in 1926, reopened last year following a renovation, and the Aladdin Holiday Inn, which was built in the 1930s, is wrapping up a renovation and will begin accepting guests in June.
Meanwhile, a new hotel tower with meeting facilities just opened at the Argosy Casino, Hotel and Spa.
Nearby St. Joseph attracts a variety of meetings, from the Harley Owners Group to the state’s postmaster’s association.
“It’s the home of the Pony Express,” says Mary Supple, director of sales for the St. Joseph CVB, and history is the main attraction.
Meeting facilities also capitalize on the city’s past. One of St. Joseph’s most popular venues, the Patee House Museum, was built in 1858 and served as the headquarters of the Pony Express. It is a national historic landmark located next door to home of outlaw Jesse James, who was gunned down two blocks away in 1882.
Central Missouri
The main draw of Jefferson City, Missouri’s capital, is politics.
“A lot of meetings come to our city because they want to talk to the legislators,” says Steve Picker, executive director of the Jefferson City CVB. “We also have high attendance because we’re centrally located. We attract groups from all over the state.”
The main meeting hotels, the Truman Hotel and Conference Center and the Capitol Plaza, have been joined by the Best Western Capitol Inn, which opened at the end of March. The former La Bella Hotel is undergoing a total renovation and will be reflagged when it opens next spring.
Group venues include the Museum of Missouri Military History, with outside space for barbecues.
The Katy Trail, one of the longest bicycle trails in the nation, runs near Jefferson City and is popular with cyclists.
Also in the central part of the state, Columbia is the site of the University of Missouri, which attracts meetings and conventions.
“We’re one of the top medical communities in the nation and a draw for medical conventions,” says Lorah Steiner, executive director of the Columbia CVB, adding that the city also attracts association and SMERF business. “Associations that have a state-wide base see their attendance go up 10 to 15 percent because Columbia’s in the center of the state.”
The city has a lot to offer in the way of restaurants and the arts, with more to come. The art gallery scene is growing, with the Warehouse Studios—which is located in a former meat-packing plant and will have reception space—scheduled to open next year. Additionally, the historic Missouri Center Theater for the Arts, built in 1928, will close for renovations this summer and reopen next year.
Meanwhile, the new YouZeum, an interactive science center focusing on health, will be ready this fall, and the 67-acre Jefferson Farm and Gardens will open next year.
Columbia has also seen a significant influx of new hotel rooms in recent years, with newcomers including the Hilton Garden Inn and the Courtyard by Marriott, both of which opened last year.
South of Columbia and Jefferson City, Lake of the Ozarks is one of the Midwest’s premier resort regions. The area, which includes the towns of Osage Beach and Lake Ozark, is aiming to lure more corporate meetings business to the destination.
“Corporate groups are up,” says Tim Jacobson, executive director of the Lake of the Ozarks CVB. “We have people in St. Louis and Kansas City working that market.”
Meetings properties in the destination include Tan-Tar-A Resort, featuring a spa and an indoor water park; the Lodge of Four Seasons Golf Resort and Spa; and the Country Club Hotel and Spa.
Although there are 17 golf courses with 215 holes and many other things to do, the focus is on the lake.
“On a good weekend, there’ll be four to 600 boats out there,” Jacobson says, adding that many fishing tournaments are held at the lake.
Southwest Missouri
Over the past two decades Branson has made a name for itself as one of America’s top entertainment destinations, and it is further solidifying that reputation with new developments such as the $420 million Branson Landing retail, dining and entertainment district along 1.5 miles of Lake Taneycomo. With the opening of the 220,000-square-foot Branson Convention Center at Branson Landing this summer, the resort will establish itself more firmly in the minds of planners.
“It will open us up to a whole new world of events that we haven’t been able to host before,” says Vienna Bowling, director of meeting and convention sales for the Branson/Lakes Area COC and CVB. “A number of state conventions have been forced to rotate between Kansas City and St. Louis, and now Branson can be in that mix. They couldn’t look at Branson before.”
To complement the new facility, the 293-room Hilton Branson Convention Center will also open in August and be connected to the center.
Meanwhile, the Hilton Prome nade at Branson Landing, a 242-room upscale boutique hotel, debuted in February with 2,000 square feet of meeting space.
Branson draws the majority of its leisure and meetings clientele from several feeder cities, including St. Louis, Kansas City and Tulsa, along with northwest Arkansas, where Wal-Mart is headquartered.
While shows ranging from Dolly Parton and Paul Revere and the Raiders to Andy Williams and the Presleys’ Country Jubilee provide plenty of entertainment options, Branson has developed a growing number of activities and venues. The Titanic, which opened last year as an interactive museum with artifacts from the ship, hosts receptions, as does the Keeter Center on the campus of the College of the Ozarks, which also opened last year.
Those who would like to become a cowboy for a day can do so at Dogwood Canyon, a nature preserve that belongs to the owner of Bass Pro Shops, and there’s always Taneycomo, Table Rock and Bull Shoals lakes, which provide fishing enthusiasts with a unique chance to catch warm-water bass and cold-water trout all in the same area, and also offer activities such as boating and kayaking.
Two group-friendly resorts are also located at Table Rock Lake: Chateau on the Lake Resort, Spa and Convention Center and Big Cedar Lodge.
Just north of Branson, Springfield relies partly on its proximity to Branson, along with its location, to lure groups.
“One of the appealing things about Springfield is that it’s centrally located in the country. You can get there from anywhere,” says Susan Wade, spokesperson for the Springfield CVB. “It’s friendly and inexpensive, it has interesting attractions, and there’re lots of things to do. And it’s just 35 miles to Branson.”
Springfield is busy making improvements. Developer John Q. Hammond will begin construction on a 100-room hotel, the city’s first four-star property, next year on a site adjacent to the University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center. The city also added an 87-room Comfort Suites in September and will open the 83-suite Candlewood Suites North in April.
Springfield has gained fame for its Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World fishing store and the Wonders of Wildlife National Fish and Wildlife Museum and Aquarium. The Discovery Center, a hands-on science museum, doubled its space last fall and added an auditorium.
The historic Gillioz Theater, which was built in 1926 as a grand palace movie theater, reopened last fall after a $10 million renovation transformed it into a performing arts and banquet center.
Also in the city, the $67 million, 11,000-seat JQH arena will open on the campus of Missouri State University in fall 2008, and a new terminal at Springfield-Branson National Airport is scheduled to be ready in 2009.
Meetings business in Joplin, situated 70 miles west of Springfield, is on the rise.
“The increased traffic flow has been amazing,” says Cameo Harrington, director of sales for the Joplin CVB. “There are new conferences coming in, and we do a lot of corporate business during the week for the companies headquartered here.”
The city is the headquarters for two trucking companies and several manufacturers.
“Joplin is also very big for religious groups,” Harrington says.
The Pentecostal Church of God has its international headquarters in Joplin, and 1,500 people are expected for its international meeting in June.
During the past two years, Joplin gained five new hotels, including a Hilton Garden Inn and a Residence Inn. The 262-room Holiday Inn Joplin Hotel and Convention Center, with 30,000 square feet of meeting space, is the main meetings property in town.
For a thrill, groups can book events at The Bridge, an extreme sports complex that opened last year and includes a rock climbing gym, cage basketball courts and The Foundry for dances and dinners.
Missouri’s first Audubon center, Wildcat Glades Conservation and Audubon Center, opens in August, and the George Washington Carver National Monument is remodeling its science center to include new displays and a new theater. It will be ready in June.
For More Info
Branson/Lakes Area COC and CVB 417.334.4136
www.explorebranson.com
Columbia CVB 573.875.1231
www.visitcolumbiamo.com
Jefferson City CVB 573.632.2820
www.visitjeffersoncity.com
Joplin CVB 417.625.4789
www.visitjoplinmo.com
Kansas City Convention and Visitors Association 816.221.5242
www.visitkc.com
Lake of the Ozarks CVB 573.348.1599
www.funlake.com
Missouri Association of CVBs 816.233.6688
www.macvb.com
Overland Park CVB 913.491.0123
www.opcvb.org
Springfield CVB 417.881.5300
www.springfieldadventures.com
St. Joseph CVB 816.233.6688
www.stjomo.com
St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission 314.421.1023
www.explorestlouis.com
