SPRINGFIELD, Ill.
A $15 million renovation of Springfield, Illinois’ convention center is complete.
This is the first renovation of the facility since being built in 1978, and includes new lighting, wall coverings, carpet and furnishings, state-of-the-art audio visual services, an expanded lobby, upgraded loading docks, the addition of first-floor bathrooms, a food court, an outdoor plaza and a new façade on the parking ramp.
The interior has a “Prairie-Style” design and color-scheme, reflecting one of the city’s architectural masterpieces, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Dana Thomas House.
General Manager Brian Oaks said the changes will make marketing Springfield to convention and sporting event planners easier. “They can expect this facility to be competitive in both quality and pricing. Our renovation reflects what groups have been telling us they’d like to see.”
Gina Gemberling, Acting Executive Director for the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau said her office is already receiving significant interest in the changes from meeting planners. “The Prairie Capital Convention Center provides state-of-the-art meeting and exhibit space to planners and we’ve been busy showing it off since the upgrades were finished.”
The Prairie Capital Convention Center is attached to the President Abraham Lincoln Springfield – a DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel (310 guest rooms; 15,000 square feet of meeting space) and adjacent to the Hilton Springfield (365 guest rooms; 50,000 square feet of meeting space). There are an additional 300 guest rooms within walking distance, for a total of more than 900 rooms and 130,000 square feet of function space available.
This convention district is located in the heart of Springfield’s historic downtown, near world-class museums, Lincoln sites, dining and shopping.
The Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau is happy to arrange complimentary site tours of the Prairie Capital Convention Center complex for meeting planners and their clients with qualified leads.
Springfield is a historic Midwestern capital city and the one-time home of America’s 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. Over one million people visit Springfield annually.
