Courtesy Bass Pro White River Conference Center
Springfield
Spring 2012 brought many new and improved meeting options to Springfield, Mo., and a year later, the city’s newest event venues are performing well.
Last spring, the 173-room Ramada Oasis Hotel and Convention Center remodeled and expanded its event space, adding three additional meeting rooms totaling 13,000 square feet. Each room accommodates as many as 250 people, and an air wall system allows the rooms to be connected to the hotel’s convention center.
With the expansion, the hotel has more than 30,000 square feet of event space and can accommodate up to 1,300 people for banquets or 1,800 for meetings. The lobby was also remodeled, and crews added an enclosed walkway to attach the lobby to the hotel and the Fire and Ice Restaurant and Bar.
Another major opening in spring 2012 was the White River Conference Center adjacent to Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World.
Decorated in a manor lodge style with a three-story stone fireplace, hardwood deck and hand-wrought iron and deerskin chandeliers , the 16,000-square-foot facility can accommodate up to 650 people in conference-, theater- and classroom-style seating. The 9,600-square-foot Grand Ballroom can be divided into two or three smaller halls, and the conference center also offers the 2,600-square-foot Sportsman’s Lodge as well as three classrooms. A patio wraps the lodge on three sides; other outdoor areas include a gazebo, trails and a pond.
Both projects have received good reviews from meeting planners and attendees, said Susan Wade, public relations manager with the Springfield Missouri CVB.
800-678-8767
www.springfieldmo.org
Independence
The Stoney Creek Inn and Conference Center is slated to open in fall 2014 in Independence, Mo. Stoney Creek Hospitality is building the hotel off Interstate 70 and state Highway 291, next to Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, and Bass’ lake, walking trail, picnic area, playground and Waterfall Park.
The hotel will include a 32,000-square-foot conference center, with a main ballroom that will seat up to 750 people at banquets. A second event space will have two meeting rooms with seating for up to 200, according to Janeen Aggen, spokeswoman for the city’s tourism office.
The conference center has multiple breakout rooms, among them the Lakeside Ballroom for events and meetings for up to 200 people, There will also be prefunction areas and outdoor event space.
Stoney Creek Hospitality manages and is part owner of 13 hotels and conference centers in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Missouri.
800-748-7323
www.visitindependence.com
