Welcome center planned near future Route 66 plaza downtown 

In mid-March, Visit Springfield, Missouri plans to shift the location of its downtown visitor welcome center a few blocks to the west, said Mark Hecquet, president and CEO.  

He said the move to 318 Park Central East in The U building from 815 E. St. Louis St. is a bid to leverage better foot traffic to promote the city’s offerings to more people. Meanwhile, the change comes in time for local and national celebrations linked to the 100th anniversary of Route 66, America’s 250th birthday and the FIFA World Cup to be played in Kansas City in mid-July. 

“Certainly the location there on the corner of the building, first and foremost, that’s where the Route 66 Birthplace Plaza will be going in, prior to the centennial kickoff in April,” Hecquet said in an interview today with Springfield Business Journal. “Obviously, we’re close to downtown, the square, across from the Gillioz [Theatre]. And so we wanted to be near more foot traffic closer to some of our attractions in the city. It was a no-brainer of a location for us to move to.”  

Hecquet said Visit Springfield, Missouri’s change in welcome center locations is not related to proposals for a new convention and event center in the downtown area. The existing Route 66 Springfield Visitor Center located in the first level of the Jordan Valley Car Park at 815 E. St. Louis St. will close, Hecquet confirmed.  

Administrative offices will remain at the car park facility, at least for the time being, he said, while the new welcome center down the street at 318 Park Central East will sport two staffers. Visit Springfield, Missouri’s welcome center at the Springfield-Branson National Airport will continue to operate, Hecquet said.  

“The airport traffic has different needs than most of the people that come into the welcome center downtown,” he said. 

Visit Springfield, Missouri has been renovating the 1,745-square-foot space on Park Central East and signed a five-year lease for undisclosed terms with The U At Springfield LLC, Hecquet said.  

“With those huge events coming later in the year, we want to make sure we can deliver the best experience possible for every visitor coming to Springfield,” Hecquet said. “We can provide them with information while they’re here.” 

Hecquet said the local tourism board expects “a huge increase in visitation over the rest of the year” and the new welcome center location will bring “more foot traffic into our downtown and closer to our restaurants and our shops and things like that. So, we feel we have an inherent value to the downtown corridor.”  

Cora Scott, Springfield director of public information and civic engagement, said the municipality supports the move. 

“The city of Springfield is very excited about Visit Springfield’s new visitor center at Park Central Square, especially as the National Route 66 Centennial Kickoff Celebration will bring tens of thousands of people to town,” she said in a provided statement today. “Its adjacency to the planned Birthplace Plaza at the site of the former Colonial Hotel, makes it an ideal location.”