City returns to voters with 3% tourism tax for convention center

Voters in the city of Springfield will decide April 7 on a funding measure for a proposed downtown convention and events center.

The city is seeking an additional 3% lodging tax to be assessed to visitors of its hotels, motels and short-term rentals with funds to be used for construction of a center at the site of the current Springfield Expo Center and on a vacant lot beside it.

It’s an issue some city residents thought was settled in November 2025, when voters rejected a similar tax. Only 7% of registered voters cast ballots, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting, and although 52% of voters opposed the measure, that was a difference of just 382 votes, per the Greene County Clerk’s Office.

The new ballot measure is largely the same but for the addition of a 35-year sunset to what was originally proposed as a permanent lodging tax. Additionally, funds would be used not only for construction of a convention and events center, but also for its operation and maintenance.

A 2025 report by Chicago-based paid consultant group Hunden Strategic Partners Inc. estimates that the center would generate $1.3 billion in net new visitor spending and $68.7 million in net new fiscal impact over 30 years, according to past SBJ reporting.

Springfield City Council set a hard cap of $175 million on construction costs for the center, with a maximum of $205 million if the city receives an already-approved $30 million appropriation from the Missouri legislature, currently withheld by Gov. Mike Kehoe.

Previous SBJ reporting estimates first-year revenue from the 3% tax at $4.9 million, and by the 35th and final year, the estimate is $21 million. Total revenue from the tax is estimated at $407 million.

Annual debt service on the $145 million project would begin at $3.7 million in the first year and would rise to $13.7 million in 2057, the final year, according to past SBJ reporting. The measure would collect five years of taxes past the retirement of the 30-year bond.

Additionally, the funding stack includes reallocation of revenue from the city’s existing 5% lodging tax, part of which goes toward bond debt on construction of the Brightspeed Ice Park, for maintenance. The ice park bond is projected to be paid off in 2028, two years ahead of schedule.

The Hunden report stated that a 400-room connected hotel operated by a recognized brand is essential to the project and estimated the cost at $209 million, separate from the cost of the center itself. City officials say this would be accomplished through a private developer.

David Stokes, director of municipal policy at the Show-Me Institute, penned a guest column in SBJ prior to the November election to suggest city voters take a skeptical approach to the city’s revenue claims regarding the center. Raising the specter of a nearly empty downtown convention center in St. Louis, Stokes cited data by researcher Heywood Sanders saying cities systematically inflate revenue projections of convention centers in order to get projects approved. Stokes also noted that two competing convention centers are close by in Branson and Lake of the Ozarks.

Past mistakes
City Manager David Cameron is quick to admit the city made mistakes with its first ballot measure, and that’s something he said he learned by going out into the community and listening to residents.

“It expanded my awareness and knowledge of the overall community itself – neighborhoods and businesses – about how you put things together and how you communicate things in advance,” he said. “It added more perspective to this project and how we need to move and share our story.”

Cameron said it was important for him to gain a better perspective on what happened with the November ballot issue, with what he considered to be a concerningly low turnout.

“You have to learn from those opportunities, and the only way to learn is to go out and visit with people,” he said.

Cora Scott, the city’s director of public information and civic engagement, also reflected on some lessons gleaned from the failed ballot measure during her March 17 appearance at SBJ’s People You Need to Know live interview series.

“The main things that you heard were people wanted to see some sort of visual – they wanted to understand what this could be – and they needed more of the information pinned down,” she said. “It was too nebulous – it was too broad.”

A reveal of initial design renderings by architect Populous Inc. was scheduled for the afternoon of March 19, after SBJ’s print deadline, though coverage is planned at SBJ.net.

Scott said an important takeaway is that the building would be more than a convention center.

“It really is a multipurpose building that could be flipped to have an indoor soccer field; it could be used for graduations; it could be used for a variety of different things,” she said. “It really would be a gathering space for the community.”

Economic development
In all of the discussion of a potential downtown convention and events center, Mark Hecquet hopes a key concept has broken through.

Hecquet, president and CEO of Visit Springfield, Missouri, sees the potential center as a business magnet.

“The center itself is one part of a sort of a much bigger potential economic boon for the city,” he said. “In lots of cities, centers go in and become a business attractor of sorts, whether it be from hotels, restaurants, entertainment – all those types of things.”

And Hecquet said it’s not necessary to look far for an example. In Oklahoma City, he said, the city built its convention center next to a park in an attempt to connect the city with the river. Five years ago, it was an isolated building, but today Hecquet said the building is situated amid transformative growth. The OKC center was also designed by Populous.

The headline for a January article in the Oklahoma City Free Press touts the success of the center, noting, “Five years in, OKC Convention Center surpasses goals.” Since opening, the article states, the $288 million convention center hosted more than 700 events, welcomed nearly 970,000 attendees and generated $147 million in direct spending from its launch in 2021 – during the COVID-19 pandemic – through 2025.

The article cites the center’s general manager, Barbara Beaton, as saying the demand has accelerated to the point that the center is booking events into 2030. Like the proposed Springfield center, Oklahoma City’s also hosts local events.

Private development has happened in the area of the Oklahoma City Convention Center, including a 605-room Omni hotel. 

Oklahoma City’s center has served as an economic driver, and private industry came along to maximize it, Hecquet said. He added that Kansas City offers a similar nearby example, with its convention center in the Power and Light District, a center for nightlife and entertainment.

There is a secondary economic boom that can come from such developments, Hecquet said.

“We haven’t really told that story too much,” he said. “For every city that has one of these, there’s been additional significant private investment surrounding it.”

Tourism need
Hecquet, whose organization is focused on bringing conventions to the Queen City, said he has heard the narrative that the city already has a convention center.

“We don’t,” he said. “We never have.”

The Springfield Expo Center is not a convention center, he said, but a big space with a concrete floor designed for shows and expositions. He noted a functional convention center requires more breakout rooms and ballroom space large enough to accommodate all attendees.

Further, the Expo Center was never built the way it was supposed to be, Hecquet said. For instance, he said, an arena was to have been built next door to it to complement the space, and that never happened. Further, the Expo Center lacks modern needs of meeting spaces. There’s a space for a kitchen that was never built, he said.

“We need to be able to create a venue that is flexible,” he said.

The proposed center would be able to host indoor sporting events with floor space for 16 volleyball courts or eight basketball courts, then change the next day to accommodate a convention or meeting.

Hecquet said tourism is big business for Springfield.

“We at Visit Springfield live in the tourism space, and we’ve forgotten to tell people why tourism is so important,” he said.

But the industry includes 20,000 jobs locally, he said, with 70-plus hotels and myriad restaurants. The industry creates a $1 billion impact annually, he said.

As voters consider whether to fund a convention center, they are weighing in on whether to continue supporting tourism in the city, according to Hecquet, who noted other cities are investing heavily in convention centers.

“It’s not a today problem; it’s a 10-year problem,” he said. “It’s really a decision for the city of whether we want to be in the tourism business at the end of the day.”

Barbara Withers, president of the Springfield Hotel Lodging Association and of Elliott Lodging Ltd., said her organization voted to back the proposed tax both in 2025 and this time around.

Withers said there are always opposing voices, and her organization’s membership was no different, generally backing a center but with some balking at an increased tax.

“Really, the only complaint people had was the tax, but we have to have that to make it work,” she said.

Convention centers always have overflow, she said, and not everyone will stay at a convention hotel – something the Hunden report called essential to the convention center project but that is not part of the city’s plans.

Some operators of short-term rentals in the city have expressed concern about the additional lodging tax.

Real estate agent Brett Reinhart, owner of Buy & Sell Realty LLC, owns multiple short-term rentals in Springfield – he declined to disclose how many. 

“I see everyone’s side of this when they say this is what brings tourism here and this is why your hotels and Airbnbs are even rented,” he said.

But Reinhart said the lodging tax is already 5%, and short-term rental operators are lucky if they make a 10%-12% return.

“If you start adding another 3%, it hurts,” he said. “How much more can I be taxed?”

Reinhart said Airbnb operators must keep their nightly rental rates low to ensure bookings. A fully renovated modern house that is pet friendly with a large backyard and a hot tub might rent for $110 per night, he said, and that gets people to click, but then they realize they need to pay a cleaning fee, an Airbnb fee and a management fee. Lodging taxes are paid by Airbnb operators, Reinhart said, though according to past SBJ reporting they are not collected directly through online platforms.

“We can’t keep tacking on stuff,” Reinhart said.

Reinhart said he could see adding a smaller tax.

“1%, I could see,” he said. “That would add up plenty for the city. But adding another 3%? Good Lord.”

Springfield’s current lodging tax is 13.1%, according to city officials, who say the proposed new rate of 16.1% would still be lower than Memphis (18.75%), Overland Park (18.35%), St. Louis (17.93%), and KC (16.48% plus $3/room night).

One vocal supporter of the tax measure is professional TV host, comedian and emcee Jeff Houghton.

Houghton, who said he is frequently hired to host events at convention centers across the country, posted a video endorsement of the tax measure on social media.

“I am a downtown-lover and supporter,” he said. “Downtown has had tons of momentum over the years, but it’s kind of stalled a little bit since COVID. This would be a big shot in the arm for that.”

Houghton said he felt drawn to speak out about the value of a new convention center after seeing a lot of people with less experience with events expressing their views online.

“What it would mean for all these bars and restaurants and retail – and overall for the Springfield economy – is bonus money,” he said.