Business boost at fairgrounds from nontraditional source

Revenue and events are up at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds, and it has a lot to do with Springfield City Council votes in recent years.

In 2012 and 2013, council members approved amendments to the lease agreement at the city-owned fairgrounds, permitting alcohol sales at organized events. Now, officials say the moves have boosted business, albeit indirectly.

Aaron Owen, general manager of the north-side fairgrounds, said 2014 revenue came in at roughly $3 million – $1 million above the annual pace set in 2012, according to nonprofit reporting website GuideStar.org. Event attendance was up 18 percent from 2012 to 523,000 people through the gate last year.

“It’s been very successful, and it’s not by way of selling alcohol,” fair board member Kent Hyde told council members at the March 9 meeting. “Alcohol sales are less than 3 percent of our revenue. But what it did, it allowed us to attract other events where that’s available to certain patrons.”

For instance, Owen said facility rentals are up about 20 percent during that time, and over 70 events have been scheduled for this year.

When Owen started working for the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds in 2012, the organization only put on four in-house events. Last year, he said it managed 14, and that wouldn’t have been possible without alcohol sales.

“We were struggling, and it did help us greatly,” said Hyde, a member of the Greene County Agricultural and Mechanical Society Inc. board that governs the fairgrounds and leases the property from the city.

During the city manager’s report to council, Hyde recounted the council votes.

“In 2012, we asked you to amend our lease with the city and Park Board to allow us to serve alcohol at certain events. We thought it would help,” he said. “We came back in 2013 and asked you to amend it again so we could serve alcohol in controlled circumstances at the fair itself. That was approved, and we did that.”

With the increasing revenue, Hyde said operators have made over $200,000 in fairground improvements the past 18 months. He also noted management has taken over concessions during the annual fair and other events – another bottom-line booster – and as a result they’ve paid out over $50,000 to youth groups that help run the stands.

And there is a tax bump that’s been generated, as well, said Hyde, an attorney with Hyde, Love & Overby LLP.

“We’ve contributed sales tax from our food and beverage business of over $50,000 to the city. We’ve reduced the debt that the city backs through a bond issue on the E-Plex by $37,000 and we’ve paid all of our short-term debt,” Hyde told council members. “The bottom line is things are going well.”

Among the annual events held at the fairgrounds are Sertoma’s Oktoberfest and the Rock’n Ribs annual fundraiser. A new event now getting some legs under it is the Beer, Wine, Cheese and Chocolate Festival, which was held Feb. 7.

“We just had our third one, and last year, in Las Vegas, it was nominated and won first place internationally for a nonfair festival,” Owen said. “We would’ve never been able to have that event before.”

Christmas parties are another new draw, he said.

“This past year, we did nine Christmas parties,” Owen said. “We’ve had the kitchen and all the facilities to do that, but people wanted to be able to have cocktails.”

Menards’ moves
Plans for two Menards stores in the Queen City are closer to reality.

On March 9, council members unanimously approved three bills tied to construction plans by Eau Claire, Wis.-based home improvement retailer Menard Inc.

The council action related to Menards started by annexing into the city 39 acres of private property and 6 acres of Missouri Department of Transportation and Greene County right-of-way at 3705 W. Sunshine St.

The administrative body then voted to terminate the Hickory Hills Marketplace Community Improvement District before rezoning nearly 35 acres at 3429 E. Chestnut Expressway to a highway commercial district from a planned development district.

Menards was targeted by developer Paul Larino – who had established the CID in April 2011 – as an anchor tenant for his Hickory Hills Marketplace project, but a deal never came together and Larino eventually walked away from his plans.

In August, Menards signed a $4 million contract to purchase Springfield Public Schools’ former Hickory Hills School property at Chestnut Expressway and U.S. Highway 65. Four months later, a Menards spokesman said the company planned to build a second store northwest of the Wal-Mart Supercenter and across from the 96-acre Springfield Plaza development at South West Bypass and West Sunshine Street.

The moves pose a threat to Springfield-based Hermann Lumber Co., which sold stores in Camdenton, Eldon and Lebanon after a new Menards opened in the Lake of the Ozarks area a couple of years ago, a Hermann official told Springfield Business Journal the week before the vote.

According to Menards.com, the 54-year-old company operates in 14 states, between Ohio, North Dakota, Wyoming and Kentucky. The closest store to Springfield is in Lake Ozark, and other Missouri locations are in Jefferson City, Columbia and Poplar Bluff. The company also is planning a store in Hollister.

The preliminary plat for the west Springfield Menards is expected to go before the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission on April 9 and receive a first reading at council on April 27.   

Menards spokesman Jeff Abbott said no construction timeline was set for the local stores, but real estate representative Tyler Edwards told council members during the public hearing construction would start this summer with their approval.