When it comes to its central region, the Show-Me State has much to show off, and those who decide to meet in the middle—midway between Kansas City and St. Louis—have plenty of choices.
Mid-Missouri is home to the state capital of Jefferson City, with many museums and a rich historical legacy; Columbia, home to the University of Missouri, the state’s largest university; and Lake of the Ozarks, a recreational playground boasting one of the world’s largest manmade lakes.
This is a region full of small towns, historic sites, state parks and wineries. Its central position served it well when it came time to choose a site for the capital. Today, that central location is also an advantage in the meetings market.
Jefferson City
Situated on the banks of the Missouri River, Jefferson City has been the state capital since 1821, and its marketing tagline is “You’ll Feel the History.”
“We get associations and government business mostly, and some corporate business,” says Marianne Thies, sales manager at the Jefferson City CVB. “We are a value-priced friendly city—we hear that all the time.”
Top attractions in Jefferson City, many dating to the city’s founding, include the Missouri State Capitol, Missouri Supreme Court, Governor’s Mansion, Missouri History Museum, Missouri State Museum, Museum of Missouri Military History and Cole County Historical Society Museum.
Downtown’s former sprawling Missouri State Penitentiary opened as a visitor attraction in 2009. A highlight of tours of the facility, which opened in 1836 and closed in 2004, is a gas chamber where 40 executions took place. Inmates included heavyweight champion Sonny Liston, James Earl Ray and Pretty Boy Floyd.
“Many conferences are adding tours of the prison to their schedules,” Thies says. “Its popularity is amazing. Every tour is unique, and they can be customized for groups.”
Meanwhile, recreational opportunities have improved for pedestrians and bikers, who can now cross the Missouri River Bridge on Highway 54. Connecting downtown with the city’s north side is a new $6.7 million bridge attachment, which features two lookout points with views of the capitol and riverfront.
It also connects on the north side with the 240-mile-long Katy Trail State Park, which stretches across the state from St. Charles to Clinton. Most of the trail follows the Missouri River. Built on the former Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, known as the Katy, the park is billed as the country’s longest rails-to-trails project.
Jefferson City has more than 1,300 guest rooms.
The major meetings facility, the 255-room Capitol Plaza Hotel & Convention Center, with 22,000 square feet of meeting space, is within walking distance of the capitol and Missouri State Museum.
Also downtown and across from city hall, the 151-room Doubletree Hotel Jefferson City has 6,000 square feet of meeting space. The former Hotel DeVille near the capitol, which has meeting space for 100, was rebranded the Baymont Inn and Suites Jefferson City last December after a renovation.
South of downtown, the 232-room Truman Hotel & Conference Center has 24,000 square feet of meeting space.
Columbia
Columbia, located north of the capital, is Missouri’s fifth-largest city. Colleges surround downtown, with the University of Missouri to the south, Stephens College to the east and Columbia College to the north.
“We’re in the middle, halfway between St. Louis and Kansas City and about two hours from each,” says Amy Schneider, acting director of the Columbia CVB. “We are best suited to groups of 500 to 600. We get associations and a lot of family reunions, and have a vibrant downtown and lots of special events and festivals.”
The downtown core is known as The District, a walkable neighborhood of more than 70 bars and restaurants, plenty of live performances and events such as the True/False Film Festival, the Jazz, Wine and Beer Pub Crawl, the Gallery Crawl, the 9th Street Summerfests, the Living Windows Festival and First Night Columbia.
The newest attraction is the Columbia Star Dinner Train. Featuring a four-course gourmet meal in vintage coaches pulled by 1950s locomotives, the two-and-a-half to three-hour journey is offered Friday and Saturday evenings for dinner and Sunday for brunch.
Columbia boasts 36 hotels, more than 3,500 guest rooms and over 200 restaurants.
The city’s primary meetings complex is the 311-room Holiday Inn Executive Center, which delivers 37,000 square feet of meeting space, including 19,000 square feet in the adjacent Columbia Expo Center, which can handle banquets for 1,600 people.
Among the city’s major hotels are the Stoney Creek Inn & Conference Center, with 11,800 square feet of meeting space; Hilton Garden Inn Columbia, with more than 9,000 square feet of meeting space; Days Inn Conference Center Columbia, with 6,000 square feet of function space; and Hampton Inn & Suites at the University of Missouri, with 6,000 square feet of meeting space.
Its newest hotel, the 126-room Holiday Inn Columbia East, with 2,200 square feet of meeting space, opened last year six miles from downtown.
Other venues include Boone County Fairgrounds, the University of Missouri’s 14,000-seat Mizzou Arena and the Midway Expo Center, popular for horse shows.
Lake of the Ozarks
Encompassing such communities as Lake West, Lake Ozark, Eldon, Camdenton and Osage Beach, the Lake of the Ozarks area is about 70 miles south of Columbia and 40 miles southwest of Jefferson City.
A destination of lakes and tributaries originating with the damming of the Bagnell River in the 1930s, it has 1,150 miles of shoreline, 350,000 square feet of meeting space and 7,700 guest rooms and lodging units.
“With our central location and proximity to the capital, we are a popular state association and government meeting site,” says Lagina Fitzpatrick, director of sales at the Lake of the Ozarks CVB. “We offer a wide variety of lodging selection, which allows us to also cater heavy to the family reunion market.”
Recreational opportunities abound, according to Fitzpatrick.
“We offer over 250 holes of championship golf carved out of the rolling Ozark Hills and have many full-service marinas,” she says. “Boating and fishing are among the top activities. Our most popular off-site venues are our yacht and excursion boat cruises. The Lake has three excursion boats that offer scenic cruises and may also be chartered for private parties. Ha Ha Tonka State Park, Willmore Lodge and our wineries are also great off-site venues.”
The state park has 20 picnic areas, two with shelters. Willmore Lodge, home to the Bagnell Dam Museum, can take groups of 80 inside and has larger outdoor space.
At Lake of the Ozarks, visitors can explore caves, visit two waterparks, take a scenic airplane or helicopter tour, go horseback riding and parasailing, and take in a handful of museums.
Osage Beach is home to a Premium Outlet mall, with more than 110 stores.
The largest meetings property, the 870-room Tan-Tar-A-Resort offers 93,000 square feet of meeting space. The 117-suite Camden on the Lake Resort, Spa and Yacht Club has over 16,000 square feet of function space and recently added a 6,000-square-foot ballroom.
Other major properties include the 350-room Lodge of Four Seasons, with more than 65,000 square feet of meeting space; the 96-room Country Club Hotel & Spa, with 42,900 square feet of function space; the 209-room Resort at Port Arrowhead, with 17,000 square feet of meeting space; and the 159-room Inn at Grand Glaize, with 12,400 square feet of function space.
Tony Bartlett has been writing about the travel trade industry for more than 25 years.
