CVB Travel: Springfield CVB begins Tourist Information Center Expansion

Susan Wade is the public relations manager with the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Remodeling began Jan. 5 on the Tourist Information Center operated by the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Plans call for expanding display area from about 750 square feet to more than 1,600 square feet and increasing storage and workspace for the volunteers and staff members who prepare thousands of information packets sent to people who request information about the city.

The remodeling project on the 14-year-old center at 3315 E. Battlefield Road originally was slated to begin in mid-February after the bureau moved to new office space on the ground floor of the Jordan Valley Car Park. Those plans were changed in order to complete the project with the least amount of disruption in services to tourists.

"Fewer people use the Tourist Information Center in the winter, so we decided that was the best time for construction," said CVB Executive Director Tracy Kimberlin. "We wanted to get the project done before the tourist season goes into high gear in the spring."

The bureau, which serves as Springfield's primary marketing agency dedicated to bringing conventions and visitors to the city, also operates a tourist information center at the Springfield-Branson Regional Airport.

No construction is planned at the Airport Information Center. The centers provide services to nearly 100,000 people annually and the 1 millionth visitor is expected in June or July.

The first phase of the $55,000 remodeling project at the Tourist Information Center should be completed in February and construction begins on the second phase after the bureau moves to the Jordan Valley Car Park.

The improvements at the Tourist Information Center will accomplish several things.

New displays and kiosks will make information about Springfield stand out from the hundreds of brochures displayed from all over the state.

An up-to-date center will give visitors a better impression of Springfield. The Tourist Information Center serves about 60,000 people annually.

Storage space will give the bureau room for thousands of visitor guides, brochures, sales materials and other items currently kept in a variety of places including staff offices and off-site storage units.

Additional workspace will make putting together packets for bulk mailings easier and safer for the bureau's volunteers and staff.

This will be a busy winter for the bureau. Along with the Tourist Information Center project, moving to the Jordan Valley Car Park will keep the staff hopping.

The move will allow the bureau to consolidate its offices and operate more efficiently. The bureau currently operates in offices in the back of the Tourist Information Center and in the Union Planters Bank building at 3271 E. Battlefield Road.

"We ran out of space a few years ago and had to move half the staff into a separate building," Kimberlin said. "We're out of space again."

Besides providing sufficient office space, being in the Jordan Valley Park will give the bureau more visibility as it strives to increase tourism in the city and a central location with easier access to meeting facilities around the city, including the new Springfield Exposition Center.

A central location will make trips to hotels, the airport, Ozark Empire Fairgrounds and meeting facilities more convenient, said CVB Sales Director Dana Maugans.

The lobby of the new offices also will serve as an information center that can be utilized by people attending events at the Springfield Exposition Center, Jordan Valley Ice Park, the new Hammons Field, the soon-to-be-constructed arena and other facilities.

"It will be nice to have that available to people who are here for a big convention that may want to pick up a Springfield souvenir or get information about attractions and events taking place while they're in the city," Maugans said.

Along with the remodeling project and the move to downtown offices, the bureau also will be busy with getting the word out about a proposal to increase the city's hotel-motel tax by one-half percent. The issue will be on the ballot Feb. 3.

The increase would generate about $285,000 for the Convention and Visitors Bureau. About $40,000 would be used to help operate the Tourist Information Center and the remainder for marketing programs to attract conventions, sporting events and other events to the city.