YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
Shortly after that, on Sept. 7, an official ribbon cutting drew more than 200 people to the center, including city of Branson dignitaries, representatives of center developer HCW Development Corp., and folks from Hilton Hotels Corp., which is managing the property for the city.
Bill Tirone, director of sales and marketing for Branson Convention Center, said business has been brisk since then. More than 150 event days have been booked for 2008, Tirone said.
The largest booking, expected to draw 4,500 people, is Branson-based Billye Brim Ministries’ Prayer Mountain in the Ozarks. Another group, which Tirone isn’t at liberty to disclose, anticipates 1,700 attendees in August.
The new center has upped the ante in the competition for convention business in southwest Missouri. Tracy Kimberlin, executive director of the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, told Springfield Business Journal in August that two groups had chosen Branson instead of Springfield for their conventions – even before the Branson Convention Center opened its doors.
At the time, Kimberlin lamented Springfield’s lack of a hotel connected to the 110,000-square-foot Springfield Expo Center. Springfield’s future may look a little brighter, considering Springfield City Council’s October approval of a seven- to 10-story Embassy Suites Hotel connecting to the Expo Center. Hotel magnate John Q. Hammons is building the $35 million, nearly 200-room hotel on the much-sought-after 1.7-acre parcel between the Expo Center and Jordan Valley Car Park.
Connectivity in Branson means access to a 12-story, 293-room Hilton Hotel. The hotel and convention center are located across from the $420 million Branson Landing development.
Among the amenities at the 220,000-square-foot convention center are flexible, high-tech meeting space, a 23,000-square-foot ballroom and two exhibit halls totaling 47,000 square feet, but those aren’t the only factors pulling groups to Branson.
“Because of all of the shows and attractions, (Branson’s) a great leisure destination,” Tirone said. “All of the amenities that Branson has offered in the past … are great amenities for the Branson Convention Center.”
Tirone estimates that roughly 60 percent of the groups booking the convention center are Missouri-based.
“A lot of the people who are calling us are people who already have been to resort destinations, whether (those) are in the state or other areas of the country, and they know what Branson has to offer. Now that Branson has a convention center, it makes it a much more desirable destination.”
The demographic, however, starts to change for bookings in 2009 and 2010, which Tirone attributes to increased awareness of the Branson airport, which is slated for completion in 2009. But the bookings don’t stop in 2010.
“We’ve got things booked through 2012,” Tirone said.[[In-content Ad]]
Bapa Network is adding to its Dunkin’ lineup with a new shop in northwest Springfield, just east of the intersection of Chestnut Expressway and West Bypass.