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Originally Posted On: https://www.springfieldmo.org/blog/post/more-than-meetings-lasting-benefits-for-springfield-residents/
When people hear ‘convention center,’ they often picture long conference tables, name badges, and PowerPoint presentations. And yes, a modern convention and events center absolutely serves those purposes. But for Springfield, Missouri, the proposed Convention and Events Center is about so much more. It’s about what happens long after attendees leave — the jobs that stay, the businesses that thrive, the tax dollars that flow into city services, and the sense of pride that comes from watching our city grow into its full potential.
Springfield already welcomes approximately 3 million visitors every year. These are real people — filling hotel rooms, eating at local restaurants, shopping downtown, and exploring everything our city has to offer. The question isn’t whether Springfield draws visitors; it clearly does. The question is whether we’re giving those visitors a reason to come here instead of somewhere else.
What Springfield Stands to Gain
The numbers behind this project tell a compelling story. According to an economic analysis by Hunden Partners, a completed Convention and Events Center in Springfield is projected to host an estimated 164 events annually. Those events would bring approximately 179,500 attendees through our doors each year, generate roughly 80,000 hotel room nights, and support around 216 ongoing full-time jobs. That’s not a projection tied to a best-case scenario — it’s a conservative estimate grounded in data from comparable cities.
The annual economic impact of all that activity? Approximately $45 million in new visitor spending. That money stays in Springfield — spent at local businesses, supporting workers, and funding city services. No general fund dollars are required. No increase to property taxes or general sales taxes on residents. This is visitor investment put directly to work for Springfield.
Who Actually Pays for This?
This is one of the most important details of the entire proposal, and it deserves to be said clearly: Springfield residents do not pay this tax. The funding mechanism is a 3% increase in the tourism tax — a tax only paid by people staying in hotels, motels, and short-term rentals like Airbnbs. Springfield’s lodging tax currently sits at 5%. The proposal would bring it to 8%, which is still competitive with similar-sized cities like Kansas City, St. Louis, Memphis, and Overland Park.
In other words, Springfield is asking out-of-town guests to invest in the city they’re already visiting — and in return, Springfield gets a world-class facility that keeps those visitors coming back and brings even more alongside them.
Jobs That Go Beyond the Event Floor
The hospitality industry already supports more than 18,000 thousand jobs across the Springfield area. A new Convention and Events Center would reinforce and expand that workforce, creating sustained employment — not just temporary positions tied to a single event, but ongoing roles in event management, catering, facility operations, security, maintenance, and more.
The ripple effect extends well beyond the building itself. Every convention, trade show, or sporting event that books Springfield instead of a competing city means hotel rooms filled, restaurant seats occupied, and retailers with foot traffic they wouldn’t otherwise have. These are real dollars landing in the pockets of Springfield workers and business owners.
A City That Competes — and Wins
Springfield is a remarkable city. But for too long, it has been passing on opportunities simply because it lacks the facilities to host them. The current Expo Center offers roughly 45,000 square feet of contiguous space — a fraction of what modern conventions require. It lacks the ballrooms, breakout rooms, and the features and spaces that modern event organizers need. As a result, Springfield routinely loses bookings to cities with newer, larger, more capable venues.
The proposed Convention and Events Center would change that. Designed to expand and renovate the existing downtown Expo Center site, the facility would include a 65,000-square-foot exhibition hall, a new 30,000-square-foot ballroom, a junior ballroom, and dedicated meeting rooms. That’s a venue capable of attracting regional, national, and even international gatherings — events that bring real recognition and economic growth to Springfield.
Benefits Residents Feel Every Day
The benefits of a strong tourism economy aren’t limited to the people attending events. Visitor spending generates sales tax revenue that funds core city services — police and fire protection, street maintenance, parks, and public facilities. Every dollar a visitor spends in Springfield contributes to the services that make this city a great place to live.
Springfield residents believe in our city. We show up to local events, support downtown businesses, and take pride in what’s been built here. The Convention and Events Center is a chance to take that pride and give it a stage — one that draws visitors from across the country, showcases everything Springfield has to offer, and generates lasting prosperity for the people who call this community home.
This is more than meetings. It’s more than a building. It’s a long-term investment in what Springfield can become — and the people who live here are the ones who benefit most.
Learn more at springfieldmo.org/inform
