Interstate 44 cuts down from St. Louis across Southwest Missouri, taking in the natural mountain plateau playgrounds and great outdoors of the Ozarks. The region begins in the east at Springfield, the state’s third-largest city, and ends in the west at Joplin, the hub of a tri-state area that (in addition to Missouri) includes Kansas and Oklahoma. Just 35 miles south of Springfield sits Branson, dubbed the "Live Music Show Capital of the World."
For planners, the region’s intriguing mix of lively communities, entertainment and natural riches make it a tempting Midwest meetings choice.
Branson/Lakes Area
Welcoming 8 million visitors per year, four-season Branson has 50-plus theaters and 100-plus live shows. There are 13 golf courses, including eight championship links, and of the 200 properties providing 19,000 rooms, 27 have meeting space.
This fall, it will be three years since the city elevated its profile in the meetings and conventions market with the opening of the 220,000-square-foot Branson Convention Center and an adjoining 293-room Hilton, while the new $155 million Branson Airport opened in May 2009.
According to Vienna Bowling, the Branson Lakes Area CVB’s director of meeting and convention sales, goals for the convention center have been pretty much on target.
"With the new convention center and our new airport there are people who couldn’t consider us but can now," she says, adding the city can now handle groups of up to 5,000 or 6,000. "We’ll really hit our stride in 2012 and 2013. So much business has come in. We get lots of regional association business, and we are also getting national groups.
"Meeting planners on site tours don’t expect us to be sophisticated but are blown away when they see the quality of our facilities and shows," she adds.
The convention center was built adjacent to Branson Landing, a $420 million, 95-acre project with a town plaza and boardwalk that opened in 2006. Located on the banks of Lake Taneycomo, it boasts more than 100 stores, condos, marinas and another Hilton, the 242-room Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing, less than a quarter mile from the Hilton Branson Convention Center.
Historic downtown Branson flanks the landing.
"Free trolleys run all over and visitors have a great contrast—the upscale shopping of the landing and the quaint stores, restaurants and attractions of downtown," Bowling says.
From downtown, highway 75 stretches seven miles west to Table Rock Lake, an area with resorts and water activities. Packed with hotels, theaters and attractions, the first four to five miles is known as the Strip.
One of the Strip’s newest attractions, Branson Auto Museum, with 100 cars on display, opened in May 2009. Towering 100 feet over the Strip, Titanic, billed as "The World’s Largest Museum Attraction," stands out. Shaped like the ill-fated ship, it can handle functions for over 300 people and is just one of many off-site possibilities.
Branson has a new activity to offer groups: zip lines. Newcomers include Branson Zipline & Canopy Tour at Wolfe Creek Preserve and Zip Line USA.
Groups can take to the lakes on the Lake Queen riverboat or the Princess motor yacht, each with a 149-passenger capacity, or the 700-passenger Branson Belle and the 49-passenger Spirit of America catamaran.
Another group option is the Branson Scenic Railway, accommodating up to 325 passengers aboard vintage railroad cars that leave downtown’s 1906 train depot on a 40-mile roundtrip Ozark excursion. And Branson Landing’s Town Square has space for 5,000 for outdoor functions.
Aside from the two Hilton properties, the AAA Four Diamond, 301-room Chateau on the Lake Resort Spa & Convention Center, with a marina and water sports, delivers 43,500 square feet of meeting space. Among the other options are the 472-room Radisson Hotel Branson, with 15,000 square feet of function space, and Big Cedar Lodge, which has space for 1,000.
Joplin
With a city population of 50,000 and 2,500 hotel rooms, Joplin developed as a regional transportation center. Kansas and Oklahoma are only about 20 minutes away.
Joplin’s major venue, the 262-room Holiday Inn Hotel Joplin & John Q. Hammons Convention & Trade Center, provides more than 42,000 square feet of meeting space.
According to Cameo Gerdes, director of sales at the Joplin CVB, the city targets groups of up to 1,000 people but has handled more than 2,000.
"We rely on regional meetings and get lots of sports groups," she says. "We have a good location, are inexpensive, and have some really neat, great venues," she says.
Downtown Joplin has the Joplin Memorial Hall, which can seat more than 2,500. The Joplin Museum Complex, which has space for 150, tells the story of Joplin’s early lead and zinc mining days, historic Route 66 that runs through town, and Bonnie and Clyde’s Joplin visit. The galleries of the Spiva Center for the Arts are also available for functions.
The newest off-site meeting facility, the three-story Ramsey Building that was built in 1901, has 4,000 square feet of space and can take groups of up to 300.
"Downtown has changed dramatically over the last five years," Gerdes says. "Building renovation has gone block by block, and we have Third Thursdays [of the month] with art walks and music."
The Wildcat Glades Conservation and Audubon Center is another popular off-site venue.
The convention center and most of the hotels are located off the interstate on South Range Line Road. They include a La Quinta with more than 4,000 square feet of meeting space.
Springfield
Just north of Branson, Springfield is home to seven universities and colleges, which continue to add to the meeting space supply. It has 6,000 hotel rooms and is the headquarters of John Q. Hammons Hotels and Bass Pro Shops. Springfield markets itself with the new tagline "Welcome to the Middle of Everywhere."
"We are affordable, have a central location and friendly people, and go above and beyond to make things happen," says Dana Maugans, director of sales at the Springfield CVB. "We draw associations and lots of SMERF groups, and have an expanding sports market that has become a niche for us."
Last year, the CVB launched "Meet It or Beat It," a new campaign targeting state associations and other groups for short-term business. Meeting planners are encouraged to send in a proposal from another hotel or city, and if the CVB cannot equal or beat the deal it will pay the meeting planner $500.
With more than 112,000 square feet of available space, downtown’s Springfield Exposition Center includes a 45,000-square-foot expo hall and seven breakout rooms. Across the street, the 217-room University Plaza Hotel & Convention Center has another 43,000 square feet of meeting space. Both are operated by John Q. Hammons.
Plans for a 200-room convention center hotel are currently delayed; John Q. Hammons was set to begin construction in April but has asked the city for an extension.
Downtown’s shopping and dining areas surround the center. Near the center is Jordan Valley Park, which includes Hammons Field, home of Minor League Baseball’s Springfield Cardinals. Downtown also has two historic playhouses: the 538-seat Springfield Little Theater and the 1,130-seat Gillioz Theater.
Also within walking distance is Missouri State University (MSU) and Drury University. MSU opened the $67 million, 11,000-seat JQH Arena in November 2008. Drury will debut the $13.5 million O’Reilly Family Event Center in October. Home to basketball and volleyball teams and being built to a minimum of the LEED Silver standard, Drury’s multipurpose facility will include a 3,100-seat arena and a banquet hall.
Meanwhile, two top attractions are the original and largest Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, which has venue space and attracts 4 million visitors a year, and the adjacent Wonders of Wildlife Museum and Aquarium.
Closed in December 2007 for a $25 million renovation and expansion, the museum plans a partial reopening in December and a grand opening next spring. With new exhibits, it will increase in size from 126,000 square feet to more than 200,000 square feet, and will be connected to Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World.
Other developments include Springfield-Branson National Airport’s new $117 million, 10-gate Midfield Terminal, which debuted in May 2009.
Among Springfield’s meetings hotels are the 193-room Clarion Hotel; the 203-room Doubletree Hotel Springfield; the 188-room Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites; and the 127-room Ramada Oasis Hotel & Convention Center, which was reflagged last year.
For large groups, the Missouri Entertainment and Event Center, formerly named the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds, has almost 90,000 square feet of exhibition space and three exhibition halls.
Tony Bartlett has been covering the travel trade industry for more than 20 years.
