Springfield
Springfield ranks as Missouri’s third-largest city behind St. Louis and Kansas City.
Nature lovers will want to visit Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, which boasts more than 300,000 square feet of outdoor gear and wildlife exhibits. Outside of town, the Civil War’s first major battle west of the Mississippi was fought at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; amazingly, 75 percent of the battlefield remains intact. At Fantastic Caverns, jeep-drawn trams deliver the nation’s only ride-through experience.
“Meeting planners will find diverse attractions coupled with an abundance of interesting locations for off-site events, such as the grounds around Fantastic Caverns, downtown’s Historic No. 2 Firehouse and our interactive Discovery Center,” said Susan Wade, public relations manager at the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Lodge-themed White River Conference Center, adjacent to Bass Pro, accommodates groups of five to 650. One room has a water feature, and another has a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace with a vaulted log ceiling. Near downtown, in a former glass factory, the Old Glass Place offers 12,000 square feet for receptions or banquets.
Among the city’s full-service hotel properties, the University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center offers 39,000 square feet of meeting space, 271 rooms and a complimentary breakfast buffet. The hotel sits across the street from the Springfield Exposition Center, which houses another 112,000 square feet of space. The Ramada Plaza Hotel and Oasis Convention Center recently expanded and now offers more than 21,000 square feet of meeting space with a built-in stage, screens and theatrical lighting. Banquet facilities can accommodate up to 1,500 guests. And the DoubleTree by Hilton offers 10,000 square feet of meeting space.
Jefferson City
Commanding Missouri’s geographical and political center, Jefferson City embodies both the Show-Me-State’s frontier roots and its 21st-century achievements.
Rising as a domed sentinel above Jefferson City, Missouri’s Capitol showcases artwork by the era’s best artisans, including Thomas Hart Benton, whose 14-foot-tall murals chronicle Missouri’s social history. Across the street stands the French Renaissance-style Supreme Court Building, site of the famous Dred Scott case. Tours highlight the extensive art in both buildings.
“Groups won’t want to miss the Missouri State Penitentiary, known as ‘The Walls,’ that served as the state’s primary maximum security institution from 1836 to 2004,” said Diane Gillespie, executive director of the Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The two-hour penitentiary tour takes in the housing units and gas chamber, and evening paranormal tours are extremely popular.”
Three properties offer meeting facilities. The Capitol Plaza Hotel and Convention Center has 22,000 square feet of meeting space and an elegant ballroom. The DoubleTree’s meeting space totals 8,000 square feet, and the hotel’s 11th-floor Capitol View Room affords spectacular views overlooking the Capitol. The Truman Hotel and Conference Center’s 24,000 square feet of meeting space has three ballrooms.
Renovations were completed this spring on the former Power and Light building in the historic Millbottom area. The brick-lined industrial space accommodates 200 to 300 people and features an indoor-outdoor bar and a panorama of the Capitol and the Missouri River. For team building, groups can rent bikes at the building, hop on the nearby Katy Trail and enjoy a reception after the ride.
West of downtown, the Runge Nature Center showcases Missouri’s natural habitats, two miles of hiking trails and a 60-foot-high fire tower. Groups can use the center’s 200-seat auditorium and three breakout rooms.
St. Joseph
If American history interests your group, St. Joseph, just 30 minutes north of Kansas City International Airport, offers 13 museums and historic attractions.
“St. Joe’s heritage spans 175 years — born of the fur trade, nurtured by the Westward Expansion and brimming with adventure as the starting place of the Pony Express,” said Mary Supple, director of sales for the St. Joseph Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Among the museums is the Pony Express National Museum, dedicated to the mail service that began there in 1860. The Patee House Museum, a glorious hotel from the 1800s, pays homage to bygone days with antique cars, a 1941 working carousel and a re-created Main Street that includes Walter Cronkite’s father’s dentist office. Next door at the Jesse James home, visitors can see where James was assassinated in 1882.
Three conference hotels include the Ramada Inn, offering 9,140 square feet of meeting space and 163 hotel rooms; the Stoney Creek Inn, with 13,902 square feet of meeting space; and the Holiday Inn, with 7,325 square feet of meeting space.
Missouri Western State University’s “smart” classrooms and arena offer state-of-the-art technology for groups of from 20 to 4,500. It can be secured at a fraction of the cost of other facilities, along with the university’s professional event planning and management services. The college’s ballroom, theater, recital hall, gymnasium and fitness center are available, as are suite or apartment-style facilities. Outdoor spaces include picnic grounds, walking trails and barbecue areas.
The Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art is an off-site favorite for cocktail receptions and fine dining in its galleries and rose garden. Located in the Albrecht family home and built by the founder of the Western Tablet Company, maker of Big Chief tablets, the1935 Georgian mansion contains one of the Midwest’s finest collections of American art from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
