KC architectural firm to lead visioning for convention center 

Populous Inc., a Kansas City-based architectural firm that has designed a significant number of prominent buildings, has been hired to head up the design process for a proposed Springfield convention and events center. 

Populous projects include the $2.3 billion Las Vegas Sphere, a 20,000-person music and entertainment arena that is spherical in shape with an outer envelope consisting of an LED screen, as well as high-profile builds like Wembley Stadium in the United Kingdom and the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport. 

The company also designs convention centers, like the BMO Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, winner of the 2025 American Architecture Award in the Exposition Center category. 

Tim Rosenbury, the city’s director of quality of place initiatives, said the contract with Populous is in the range of $300,000-$400,000 for the initial planning phase, including an upcoming Jan. 28 community visioning workshop, to be held 5:30-7 p.m. at the Discovery Center of Springfield and another workshop planned for mid-February. 

Rosenbury said that if the project advances – pending April voter approval of a 3% lodging tax to fund construction – Populous would have the design contract. Rosenbury said construction of the convention center will likely end up in the $120 million range within the $175 million total project cost, subtracting professional expenses and land acquisition. He said architectural design will land somewhere between 7%-10% of the project cost, meaning it could be as much as $10 million. 

Adam Paulitsch, Populous principal for global convention center and design practice, said in a media conference today that Springfield-based Sapp Design Associates Architects Inc. is its local partner. 

Springfield Business Journal plans to publish an expanded version of this story in the Jan. 26 Daily Update.