Is Hammons out?

“We can’t have three players here … possibly playing each other to the middle,” Griggs said.

John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts representatives and the commissioners opposed to the motion expressed their desire to leave the proposal among those headed to city staff for further review.

“I think we should be included,” said Mark Harrell, president of Plaza Realty Management Services Inc., the company that manages Hammons Tower. Hammons representatives also have said a hotel is not feasible at the site, based on his company’s research.

Commissioner Dave Coonrod, who is also Greene County’s presiding commissioner, was reluctant to remove Hammons from the equation given the fact that the company has an operational lease to manage the city-owned Expo Center.

“I’m not married to these guys,” Coonrod said. “I just think they’ve got connectivity.”

But a majority of commissioners viewed the proposals as essentially two projects: a four-star hotel and convention center, and a new office building for BKD.

“We’re looking really at two projects,” said Commission Chairman Brian Fogle, who voted for Griggs’ motion.

Unless BKD selects Hammons to develop the site, the company that has played a significant role in redeveloping the Jordan Valley area won’t have a role in what’s built on the former arena site. At press time, however, Hammons had announced a March 9 news conference to unveil “his vision for his next downtown Springfield development.”