Survey: More information needed for voters to support a convention center tax 

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The results are in for a city-sponsored survey breaking down possible reasons for the failure of a November vote on a tax to fund a downtown convention center. 

The survey, conducted Dec. 4-19, 2025, had 1,229 respondents, 78% of them saying they reside within city limits. Of these, only 22% said they voted in favor of the tax, with the rest saying they voted no, abstained from voting or preferred not to respond. 

The tax measure proposed a 3% assessment on hotel, motel and short-term rental accommodations in the city. The measure, proposed as permanent, would have resulted in mostly guests to Springfield paying part of the cost of a convention facility and events center downtown.  

In the end, 52% of voters rejected the tax, possibly impacting the likelihood of Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe releasing $30 million in state funding that is currently being withheld as he gauges local support for a facility. 

Among its 36 questions, the survey asked, “What changes or conditions would make you more likely to support a revised convention and events center?” Respondents could select up to three. 

The most common response, at 18%, was a desire for a clear explanation of community benefits, with 17% wanting more transparency and public input and 15% wanting assurances that visitor taxes and not local taxes would fund the project. 

Taken together, these responses – half of those received – highlight a theme of the survey: that many voters felt they would need more information in order to vote for a lodging tax. 

Another 15% of respondents called for stronger downtown revitalization impact from the project. 

Other responses, all under 10%, suggested changes to the project itself, including a sunset provision for the tax and partnerships with other entities (6% each) and more youth sports or family-friendly features and a smaller or more affordable project (5% each). 

Some 13% of respondents answered “none of these” to the options provided for factors that would make them support a renewed measure. 

The desire for more information tracks with comments by City Manager David Cameron that a short timeline leading into the vote made the measure difficult to effectively promote. 

“There was a lot to rush to meet that deadline,” he said of the tax in an interview last month with Springfield Business Journal. “That’s not the way you would normally run a ballot measure.” 

The state legislature included $30 million in state funding in the 2026 budget and required a one-to-one match from the city, but then Kehoe’s move to restrict the funds – a step short of a veto – added urgency to the city’s need to establish a funding stack for the facility. 

The survey asked if a defined sunset to a tax would affect respondents’ votes, and44% said they would be more likely to support a tax with a sunset, while 50% said there would be no change and 6% said they would be less likely. 

Announcing a specific proposed location would make 54% more likely to support a tax, with no change for 42% and 5% less likely. Similarly, releasing preliminary designs or conceptual renderings would solidify support for 50%, with no change for 44% and less support for 6%. 

The cost of the project, pegged at $175 million in past SBJ reporting, was not cited as the major factor in the outcome of the vote, with 57% unlikely to change their vote for a less expensive center and 12% less likely to support it with a reduced cost. Some 31% did say they would be more likely to support a less expensive center. 

In the run-up to the 3% tax vote, supporters promoted the idea that a new convention center could support youth tournaments, create more event venue space and attract more entertainment and family-friendly events. Survey questions reflected these topics. 

When asked to rate the importance of a list of potential benefits in determining voter support, only 21% ranked youth sports tournament space as very important. A local event venue was very important to 26% of respondents, and the attraction of entertainment and family-friendly events was very important to 31%. 

By comparison, economic factors were highly prized among respondents. Some 51% ranked job creation and local business growth as very important, with 48% giving top importance to tax generation to support community needs. Just over 44% of respondents said keeping visitor spending in Springfield was very important, and 47% said revitalizing downtown and surrounding areas was a top priority. Although it’s a convention center project, the option of attracting regional conferences and tourism was deemed very important by only 43% of respondents. 

Half of respondents labeled funding through tourism taxes as very important in the survey. 

Cameron is scheduled to host a public listening session on the convention center 5:30-7 p.m. tonight at the Greene County Archives and Elections Center, 1125 N. Boonville Ave.