Conventional Wisdom: Demo plans for former Kmart a reminder of convention center vision as a new feasibility study gets underway

Mark Hecquet: An updated convention center study is needed following market and event changes.

Matt Morrow: Economic benefit of a convention center is not limited to the city.

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Attention, Kmart shoppers.

The former Kmart store on the grounds of the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World and Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium is slated for demolition, according to a permit on file with the city of Springfield.

The former store, owned by Bass Pro Shops Springfield West LLC, had been pressed into service in part as a package pickup facility, according to an email from Bass Pro Communications.

It was a massive one, at 104,000 square feet. Bass Pro officials say that service has been moved to the former Brown Derby at 2047 S. Campbell Ave., just south of the Bass Pro Shops Catalog Outlet.

“We are excited to better serve our customers with a more convenient location and smooth package pickup process,” officials wrote.

They added that the company has not yet determined the best future use of the space.

The building will be taken down to its concrete slab, according to the wrecking permit, and has already been placed behind a chain-link fence in preparation for the project.

No plans?
While Bass Pro officials say they do not have plans for the Kmart store site, a Springfield Business Journal article from March 2019 is a reminder that a consultancy firm recommended a convention center and hotel package near Bass Pro – and the old Kmart happens to sit right at the southern entry point of the emerging Grant Avenue Parkway, connecting Bass Pro to downtown Springfield with a multimodal pathway.

SBJ reported in 2019 that a 136-page feasibility study by Hunden Strategic Partners predicted a $1.1 billion impact from a convention center in that location over a 20-year period.

Hunden Strategic Partners has completed three such studies for the city, with a downtown site next to the Springfield Expo Center considered the best option in a 2016 report.

In the 2019 SBJ article, Tracy Kimberlin, then-president and CEO of the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the two main sites under consideration were near Bass Pro and downtown. Discussions included the CVB, the city of Springfield and the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

Kimberlin described the city’s convention market at the time as flat.

The Hunden report recommended a 100,600-square-foot convention center – roughly the size of that former Kmart. The ideal convention center would have a connected or adjacent hotel containing up to 300 rooms, per the report.

The report also called for the construction of two other hotels near the Bass Pro campus within walking distance of the proposed convention center, with up to 300 additional rooms between them.

At the time, Bass Pro’s then-Communications Director Jack Wlezien said the company was interested in exploring options, though it had not been involved in the discussion.

“I don’t think there’s any rush to create any action until we’ve thought through all the scenarios,” he said at the time.

SBJ initially emailed Bass Pro Communications to ask what the plans were for the site, and then followed up with a specific question about whether a convention center is planned. The company did not respond by press time.

Kimberlin said in the 2019 article that a Bass Pro convention center would be a unique draw for Springfield.

“There’s only one Bass Pro campus in the world like what we have here,” he said. “If there were a convention center on that campus done in the Bass Pro style, it would be something that no other city had.”

When envisioning a convention center, an attached hotel and sufficient parking for both, the large Kmart site starts to shrink a bit. However, Bass Pro Outdoor World LP owns several properties behind the current sporting goods store, on its west side. A residential street, the 1900 block of South Wedgewood Avenue, has Bass Pro listed by the Greene County assessor as the owner of all but two of the residential buildings and lots at the north, closed end of the cul-de-sac, which are vacant in Google street view. The outliers within the Indian Meadows 1st Subdivision are listed as being owned by Bradley Lorenzen, at 1940 S. Wedgewood Ave., and J. Edward Gibson, at 1941 S. Wedgewood Ave.

Changing times
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, conventioneering has changed.

Exhibitor magazine, which serves trade show and event marketing professionals, in 2021 described four ways that the pandemic may have permanently changed the event landscape:

1. Everything moved virtual during the pandemic, and going forward, events will likely remain hybrid.
2. Marketers are favoring a shift to multiple smaller, regional events within driving distance.
3. Technology has allowed for less face-to-face contact, with contactless registration, targeted small breakout sessions and experiential exhibits.
4. Attendees are more discerning about events and choose those that add maximum value.

Springfield’s central location and regional growth check one of those boxes, with a preference toward regional gatherings within driving distance. Because the others are new to the convention world since the 2019 Hunden report, another study is needed, according to Mark Hecquet, the current president and CEO of the Springfield CVB.

“We live in a different world,” Hecquet said.

He said convention centers are a topic he hears a lot about.

“Since I’ve come to Springfield, there’s not a week that goes by that I’m not asked about the merits of a convention center,” he said.

Three questions always arise, he said, and the first is “What is the right size?”

Hecquet says this is a good question, and while he has a general idea in mind, more research is needed.

“We’ve got to see how the market has changed,” he said, adding that other Missouri cities – including St. Louis and Jefferson City – are expanding their convention offerings.

One essential element to be truly competitive is a connected hotel, which Hecquet called a necessity for competing on a national front.

“A conventioneer is a traveler, too – they want to experience the community,” he said. “An isolated convention center is not as appealing. You’ve got to have amenities – dining, entertainment. When you’re bringing people from around the country to a new environment, they want to have those things.”

A second question is whether Springfield really needs a convention center. Hecquet’s answer is decidedly yes.

And the third question is where a convention center should go.

“This is probably the question I get asked most frequently,” he said. “There are many thoughts in the community about where a convention center should go. Again, I look forward to leaning on research to guide the best location for the city.”

Hecquet said a convention center is an economic driver.

“We look forward to bringing an industry leader in convention center development, whose experience, expertise and success stories from around the country will guide this vital initiative for the community,” Hecquet said, adding he did not have a timeline for the new study, but he said the hope is to launch it soon. He said at this time, the CVB is not in discussions with Bass Pro about a possible convention center on or near its campus.

Matt Morrow, president and CEO of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, agreed with Hecquet that convention dynamics have changed in the past five years.

“There’s a lot of value in reassessing that and studying what the economic impact is in today’s climate,” he said. “The CVB is working on a proposal to do an updated review of that, and that’s wise.”

Morrow also called a convention center an economic driver – not just for the city, but for the entire region.

“You end up drawing in outside economic benefit that is not limited to the convention or the city that the convention is in,” he said. “There’s significant regional impact from that kind of thing. Often people will extend their stay and explore the area.”

Morrow said the question is how big or small the return on investment will be for a convention center of a particular size or scope or cost. It is also not clear who would pay for a center. In SBJ’s 2019 reporting, Kimberlin indicated a public-private partnership would be necessary for a project to move forward.

The landscape for a convention center is even less certain until a new study is completed, according to Morrow.

“There are ever-changing economic dynamics in play,” Morrow said. “We would be wise to work to understand them better before making any kind of commitments.”

Asked if the chamber is in conversations with Bass Pro about a possible convention center on the site, Morrow declined to respond and said the organization’s policy is never to comment either on development plans or lack thereof.

Time will tell if the Bass Pro site will be in play for a convention center with this new study. For now, if there are plans in the works, officials are keeping them under wraps.