Legislature tags $30M for convention center

Missouri lawmakers on May 6 approved the reappropriation of $30 million in convention and events center funding to the city of Springfield for the next state budget.

The reappropriation is part of an act appropriating money for capital improvements for state government departments and offices and their programs.

It specifies that the funds are for a city of 160,000-200,000 inhabitants – in Missouri, only Springfield matches that description – for the “planning, design, property acquisition, construction, renovation, maintenance and repair of a regional convention center complex, provided that local matching funds must be provided on a 50/50 state/local basis.”

Cora Scott, spokesperson for the city, said the funding is part of the state budget, which Gov. Mike Kehoe must sign before the end of the fiscal year on June 30. She said the money will still be on withhold, as before, meaning that if the appropriation is approved as part of the budget, it will still require a release of funds by the governor.

“We want to see if it makes it across those two hurdles,” she said. “It’s a good sign that it was reappropriated.”

She said the city does not have additional comments at this time.

In a text message, Mayor Jeff Schrag declined an interview on the appropriation. Asked to define the city’s current strategy for the convention center, he replied, “I’ll save you some time. No plan has been developed at this point. Sorry.”

Scott did not respond by press time to a follow-up question asking whether the city had lobbied for or requested the appropriation’s renewal.

District 135 Rep. Betsy Fogle, D-Springfield, shed some light on the origin of the item’s inclusion in the new budget in a May 13 phone interview.

“I didn’t have a ton of people that were asking for it to get put back in there,” she said.

Rather, Fogle said it was placed back in the bill at the request of governor, though it remains on the restricted list.

“The future of whether those dollars make their way to Springfield is very unknown,” she said.

On April 7, voters in the city of Springfield rejected – for the second time in five months – a funding measure for a downtown convention center estimated to cost $205 million, including $175 million in construction costs.

The ballot measure asked voters to approve a 3% tax on visitor stays in hotels, motels and short-term rentals in the city.

CAB allocation
If the funds allocated by the legislature are included in the final budget bill and then released to the city by the governor, they already have a local match through a $30 million appropriation from the half-cent portion of the Spring Forward SGF sales tax, used to fund projects in keeping with the city’s comprehensive plan.

The use of the half-cent portion of the tax is based on recommendations by the Citizens’ Advisory Board. That body’s first recommendation, in July 2025, was to dedicate $30 million in tax funds as a match for a state allocation for a downtown convention and events center. The $30 million allocation represented the entirety of projected revenue for the first full year of the 10-year tax, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.

Scott verified that those funds are still being held, as the CAB has not met since the April 7 failure of a lodging tax the city was relying on to pay for a convention and events center.

A meeting has not yet been scheduled for the body, as Springfield City Council must recruit, select and onboard new members, Scott said.

The CAB experienced a shakeup earlier this year, with a review by the city attorney finding that the body was out of compliance with the city’s charter because three of its eight members resided outside the city limits. Additionally, the charter requires exactly nine members to serve on boards and commissions, and they must elect their own chair annually. City Council appointed the chair for the CAB, according to past SBJ reporting.

One of the three nonresident members was the chair, Erin Danastasio.

Vice Chair Rusty Worley said the board has not had a chance to talk through alternative recommendations for the $30 million set aside as a match for state funds since the failure of the lodging tax.

“Everything that we have talked about since our group has been in existence has been focused on the idea of a new convention center – that’s the lens we’ve looked at it through,” he said.

He added that the board has not had a chance to talk about the implications of the failure of the vote, but there will likely be a review of the funding decision at that time.

That may be a long way off, he added, noting the City Council will have to name four new members, who will then have to be seated and provided with an orientation.

“It’s going to be a little while before we get back together,” he said.

SBJ asked Worley if the CAB-recommended funds could be used in combination with state funds for another purpose, like a renovation of the existing Springfield Expo Center. Worley replied he had not heard thoughts on other avenues for the use of the dollars.

“I know the city wants to learn from this,” he said. “We’re seeing with Route 66 that there is a lot of potential for tourism, and Springfield has long had good attractions for drawing visitors. I don’t know what the thoughts are on how to utilize that state funding.”

He noted that it is important for the city’s plans to resonate with the community.

Worley served as the executive director of the Downtown Springfield Association for nearly two decades, leaving that role last year to become director of community engagement at Toth and Associates Inc., according to past SBJ reporting.

“Personally, I want to see investments in downtown tourism, but everyone wants to learn from what we heard from the ballot box in April,” he said.

He added that the CAB is just an advisory board.

“Ultimately, it’s City Council that makes those decisions,” he said.