First look at the progress of the new convention center in downtown … – St. Louis Post-Dispatch

ST. LOUIS The more than $200 million expansion of the downtown convention center is on track to open in 2024, leaders said Tuesday, promising a new era of business and tourism.

Crews have been building out the 23 loading docks, more than double what exists now, and 73,000 square feet of additional exhibit space at Ninth Street and Convention Plaza, on downtown St. Louis northern edge.

Plasterer Matt Raymer works as construction continues on Phase 1 of the expansion of the America's Center Convention Complex in downtown St. Louis, on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023.

The expansion, called AC Next Gen, will enable its operator, St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission, to host at least three concurrent events something the convention center has not been able to do before, officials said.

Together with the billions of dollars invested throughout downtown and central corridor, convention officials said they are ready to sell to event planners a story of St. Louis in renaissance.

The table is set, said Brian Hall, chief marketing officer for the visitors commission.

Steph Kukuljan and other business reporters bring you insights into St. Louis-area real estate and development.

The convention center is not a destination for most St. Louisians, but some of downtowns success hinges on it. The citys central business district has struggled in recent years. That leaves conventions, trade shows and other events at the Americas Center Convention Complex filling rooms at hotels, seats at restaurants and crowds at area attractions with thousands of eventgoers and tourists.

Tourism officials said the region needs a newer, bigger facility in order to better compete with other cities that have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to revamp their tourism infrastructure. But the expansion here has hit hurdle after hurdle since it was first pitched in late 2018, and the project that will debut next year will be considerably smaller than what officials first envisioned.

Construction continues on Phase 1 of the expansion of the America's Center Convention Complex in downtown St. Louis, on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023.

Initially, the visitors commission pitched a multiphase expansion with 92,000 square feet of exhibit space along Cole Street, a 65,000-square-foot ballroom along Ninth Street, a new pavilion and green space, as well as other faade improvements.

But political squabbling in St. Louis and St. Louis County slowed the issuance of bonds to pay for the project. The pandemic halted business for months and tied up global supply chains that drove up costs. Interest rates spiked. Only one company bid to build the first phase.

Officials had to retool what they could build. A $30 million boost from the Rams settlement helped cover some of the funding gap. Construction finally started in May 2022.

But Hall said that despite those setbacks, the expansion is already drawing interest from groups his agency hasn't been able to reach before, though he declined to disclose which groups.

The loading docks, especially, will make events run more efficiently, he said. Truck drivers will be able to back up and turn around inside the convention center, eliminating the bottlenecks on Cole Street and making life easier for nearby residents.

A new lobby, facing Martin Luther King Drive, will allow easier access for multiple events.

A community garden, which will supply events with fresh food, is planned for 10th Street. Greenspace will replace a surface lot at Ninth Street and Convention Plaza.

Although next year will be short on events, convention officials are optimistic business will bounce back in 2025. Already, they said, theyve booked the same number of events as they have for 2024.

And they said theres a 57% increase in booked rooms for hotels contracted with the facility, Hall said.

Jobs outlook: With unemployment in metro St. Louis at a record low, David Nicklaus and Jim Gallagher explain what has to happen for the region to see further job gains in 2023.

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First look at the progress of the new convention center in downtown ... - St. Louis Post-Dispatch