Continued Growth and Infrastructure Projects Put St. Louis in the Spotlight

 

There’s a spotlight shining over St. Louis. 

In late October, Explore St. Louis reported record growth in tourism, hotel industry performance and the meetings and conventions sector in its 2024 Annual Report, with direct visitor spending totaling $5.8 billion.

Throughout fiscal year 2024, Explore St. Louis booked 460,239 hotel room nights for fiscal year 2025 and beyond—a 60% increase from the previous year.

The America’s Center Convention Complex drew meetings to the St. Louis region that accounted for over 223,710 room nights, driven by major events such as the Communications Workers of America Convention and the United Pentecostal Church International Youth Congress.

The Dome at America’s Center also set records, selling 100,000 tickets across two nights for Metallica’s performances last November, marking the most tickets sold for any event since the venue’s opening in 1995, according to an Explore St. Louis press release.

Looking ahead, St. Louis is well-positioned for continued growth with a number of infrastructure projects, including a new 72,000-square-foot exhibit hall and enclosed loading docks at America’s Center. The city was selected to host MPI’s World Education Congress (WEC) in 2025 and the ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition in 2032.

Right now, it seems all eyes are on St. Louis. The city knows it’s in the spotlight, and new developments are making St. Louis ready for its business-travel close-up.

What’s New in St. Louis?

America’s Center Convention Complex

Perhaps the most-exciting development happening in St. Louis, from a meeting planner’s perspective, is the $256 million expansion and facelift that’s currently underway at the America’s Center Convention Complex in downtown St. Louis.

Phase one of the project, known as AC Next Gen, is slated for completion at the end of this year, with phase two scheduled to be completed in 2025. 

In the project’s September 2024 progress report, America’s Center unveiled its new 72,000-square-foot exhibit hall, Hall 4X, a game-changing, state-of-the-art exhibit space providing natural light and flexibility. Highlights of Hall 4X include:

• Windows surrounding the hall that bring an abundance of natural light.
• An airwall system that allows customizable layouts, including the option to host a general session in the new hall with seamless connection to the expansive 160,000 square feet of exhibit space in Halls 4 and 5. 
• Enhanced logistics, including more than double the number of loading docks (totaling 23) for efficient setup and breakdown. 
• A new outdoor gathering space, the culinary garden, which will be operational in the spring and plans to feature 42 raised beds that will supply America’s Center kitchens with fresh produce.

“Sustainability is a really important aspect of what people are looking for,” said Catherine Neville, VP of communications at Explore St. Louis. “So, the new culinary garden will supply our kitchens, but it will also act as a space where you can host outdoor meetings surrounded by nature, and it’s another part of our commitment to sustainability. Everything that can be grown onsite, that you’re not trucking in, will help in that regard, and really speaks to the nature of the St. Louis culinary scene in general.” 

In addition to the culinary garden, all the lighting throughout America’s Center will be replaced with LED lighting to further the center’s sustainability initiatives. Other plans for AC Next Gen include an enhancement of the Washington Avenue entrance, which will have a refreshed modern look with a new canopy, LED lighting and touchless entry. 

By the time attendees make their way to St. Louis for MPI WEC June 17-19, America’s Center will be more than ready to welcome them.

[Related: AC Next Gen Groundbreaking in St. Louis]

Hotel Developments

According to Explore St. Louis’ website, there are more than 30 new hotel properties recently completed or currently underway, adding to the 40,000 rooms already available in the destination. Neville highlighted what’s to come next year:

• The former OYO Hotel St. Louis Downtown City Center, housed in a historic building, was taken over by Midas Hospitality last year. The developers announced plans to invest approximately $46 million in a renovation and rebranding project, turning the property into a 220-room Sheraton hotel.
• “Just west of CITYPARK, our brand-new soccer stadium that opened [in 2022], there’s a new Kimpton going in,” Neville said. “They’re breaking ground either this fall or in the spring, and that hotel will open probably within about a year.”
• “There will also be a new Staybridge Suites connected to the Kimpton property,” Neville said. “So, there’s going to be three new hotel properties next year in downtown St. Louis.”

Last year, 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis opened its doors as North America’s only multi-venue museum dedicated to collecting and exhibiting art of the 21st century. The 10-story, Renaissance Revival-style YMCA building is in the heart of downtown and features a 173-room boutique hotel, contemporary art museum, Idol Wolf restaurant and more than 14,000 square feet of meeting and event space. 

“It was named one of the top new hotels in the world,” Neville said.

[Related: 4 Historic Hotels for Your Next Meeting in St. Louis and Kansas City]

CITYPARK’s Rebrand

On October 31, St. Louis CITY SC, the men’s Major League Soccer team based in St. Louis, announced its partnership with global battery powerhouse Energizer to re-name CITYPARK to Energizer Park starting January 1, 2025.

The 32-acre CITYPARK opened November 16, 2022, and “anchors the largest urban professional sports campus in the United States,” according to its website, including a 22,500-seat stadium, team headquarters, team store and practice facility all within the same footprint. 

“They also have a number of event opportunities,” Neville said. “And for sports enthusiasts, at the games we actually have a James Beard Award-winning chef, Gerard Craft, who is kind of the culinary team leader, and all of the food at the stadium is local. So, it’s not like someone just handed over a recipe to sports service. The chefs are there, they are handing you your food, they’re cooking their food—everything from Balkan pide to Vietnamese rice bowls.” 

The rollout of Energizer Park branding will begin later this year across CITY SC media assets, including club and stadium social channels, the stadium’s new website (www.energizerpark.com) and CITY SC’s mobile app, with stadium signage to come by the time of CITY SC’s 2025 MLS home opener.

St. Louis Union Station & The Old Courthouse

“The first train pulled into Union Station on September 1, 1894, at 1:45 p.m.,” states the St. Louis Union Station’s website. “The city known for being the gateway to the West suddenly became a gateway to all of America.”

For 130 years, St. Louis Union Station has welcomed visitors to the city from near and far, and the iconic spot continues to grow and develop in ways that are certain to draw more travelers to St. Louis.

“Union Station is a beautiful 19th-century train station, and it’s a lot of fun for history lovers,” Neville said. “They are in the middle of adding a number of new attractions. So, they already have The Midway, a 43,000-square-foot space where they can host really big events. They’re also a Hilton Hotel with a number of different culinary venues onsite.

“But from a bleisure standpoint,” Neville continued, “a lot of times, when people are traveling for conventions, they’ll bring their families with them, and Union Station is full of opportunities there.”

The Wheel at St. Louis Union Station is a 200-foot-high observation wheel with 42 fully enclosed, climate-controlled gondolas that seat up to eight riders each. Located in the former retail space inside the station is the St. Louis Aquarium, a 120,000-square-foot attraction featuring unique exhibits and tanks housing thousands of aquatic species. 

“The Soda Fountain is also a great kid-friendly spot,” Neville said. “And they’re putting in one of those rocking pirate ship rides and a number of different carnival-style rides and experiences to amplify their offerings. That should be coming online in 2025, and it’s under construction now.”

The Old St. Louis County Courthouse, more commonly referred to as the Old Courthouse, is also undergoing renovations as part of the master plan of rethinking the Arch grounds and Kiener Plaza. 

“The Old Courthouse was built originally in the 1830s, and it is where the Dred and Harriet Scott case was held,” Neville said. “It’s been closed for a couple of years, and it is reopening with new exhibitions. It will be fully handicap-accessible, and that will be coming this spring.”

[Related: 8 Great St. Louis Attractions That Are Free for Visitors]

Arts & Culture

Developments throughout St. Louis are happening across the city’s arts and culture scene as well. 

In June 2023, Forbes recognized the Grand Center Arts District in St. Louis as “the most exciting emerging arts district in America,” home to eclectic venues offering everything from Broadway productions to black box theater performances, classical ballet, circus acts, galleries, street art, museums and more.

The area is also home to Powell Hall, which was built in 1925 and has served as the home of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra since 1968. 

“Our St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second-oldest symphony orchestra in the country,” Neville said. “And Powell Symphony Hall is undergoing a major expansion. They’ve taken out all the seats, and they are actually lessening the number [of seats] so that there are more handicap-accessible seats. There will be seven or so bars in the reconfigured Powell Hall. The historic building will remain fully intact, but they’re adding a totally modern wing that will have event spaces, allowing planners the ability to have that experience within the Powell Hall footprint.”

The Grand Center Arts District is also home to The Fabulous Fox Theatre, a former movie palace built in 1929 and renovated to be a performing arts center in 1982. Today, the theater acts as host to some of the hottest Broadway shows and concerts that come through St. Louis.

“It’s not new, but it’s really wonderful,” Neville said. “We’re going to be showcasing the St. Louis arts scene for sure during MPI WEC, especially when we have our closing event in Grand Center at Fox Theatre.”

[Related: 6 Arts and Culture Venues for Offsite Events in Missouri]

Food & Entertainment

While not necessarily new developments, St. Louis has a myriad of food and entertainment offerings Neville recommends planners look into when considering unique venues and activities for their attendees. 

“One of the things that a lot of folks don’t know about St. Louis is how many free attractions we have,” Neville said. “We have the second-highest number of free attractions out of any other American city besides Washington, D.C. The zoo is free. The art museum is free. The Science Center is free. The history museum is free.” 

One place to take advantage of these offerings is Forest Park, a 1,326-acre public park home to five of the city’s major cultural institutions: Missouri History Museum; The Muny–“America’s Oldest and Largest Outdoor Musical Theatre”; Saint Louis Art Museum; Saint Louis Science Center; and Saint Louis Zoo. 

“It’s great for attendees to just pop over to Forest Park and take a deep breath, go for a walk, look at some art,” Neville said. “It’s extremely accessible, family-friendly and budget-friendly.”

Another entertainment destination, Ballpark Village is the city’s buzzing sports-themed district by Busch Stadium featuring restaurants, bars, nightlife venues and hot spots including Cardinals Nation and Hall of Fame & Museum, Budweiser Brew House and Beer Garden, and FOX Sports Midwest Live!. Stay in the middle of the action at Live! By Loews–St. Louis, an eight-story hotel featuring 216 guest rooms and over 17,000 square feet of meeting space. 

“City Foundry is another entertainment complex in Midtown, just a little bit west of downtown, but very close,” Neville said. “They have a food hall, and meeting planners can get wristbands for attendees, and people can walk around, choose from 20 different local culinary vendors and order whatever they want. There’s a Puttshack, which is like a sister brand to Top Golf. City Foundry is a place where you cannot be bored.” 

Finally, no visit to St. Louis is complete without some beer and barbecue. 

“The No. 2 beer in the world is actually brewed just outside of St. Louis in Maplewood, Missouri, at Side Project Brewing,” Neville said. “We also have Anheuser Busch, which is just south of downtown St. Louis, within a couple of minutes’ drive from the convention center, and we have wonderful craft breweries as well. So, those are another great thing to explore when you’re here.” 

Already, the city has seemingly everything at your fingertips, but there’s no denying the St. Louis spotlight keeps shining brighter and brighter.

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