SpringfieldMO.org; @LoveSpringfield
Springfield offers a distinctive mix of urban amenities, cultural experiences, and outdoor adventures, according to Madison Woods, communications manager for Visit Springfield. “We’re a city built on bold ideas,” Woods says, “We helped put Route 66 on the map in 1926, we’re home to the original Bass Pro Shops, we’re the founding location of O’Reilly Auto Parts, and the home of Springfield-style cashew chicken. We’re also where you will find Fantastic Caverns, America’s only ride-through cave. Planners will find authentic experiences here. Attendees can explore Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium, tour the caverns, or stroll through our vibrant downtown with rooftop bars, live-music venues, and locally owned restaurants, all near hotels and meeting spaces.”
The 267-room University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center is located across the street from the Springfield Expo Center. Together, the two facilities offer 160,000 square feet of function space to seat up to 1,500 guests theater style, with 35 breakout spaces. Oasis Hotel & Convention Center, an Ascend Collection Hotel has 173 guest rooms and more than 30,000 square feet of function space to accommodate 1,500 guests. The recently renovated DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Springfield has 203 guest rooms and 30,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including the recently opened Glendalough Conference Center, which can host 500 guests banquet style or seat 800 theater style. In downtown, the historic AAA Four Diamond Hotel Vandivort has 97 guest rooms, a 1,500-square-foot meeting hall, a penthouse-level 2,800-square-foot ballroom, and two smaller meeting rooms.
White River Conference Center, adjacent to Wonders of Wildlife Museum & Aquarium and the original Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, has space to seat up to 1,000 theater style for corporate events, social gatherings, and meetings. Just across the street from the conference center is the 67-room Bass Pro Shops Anglers Lodge. Pythian Castle, originally built as an orphanage in 1913, now offers history tours, escape rooms, ghost events, and murder mystery nights. The historic venue features a ballroom seating 200.
