[ON LOCATION] LAUREL HERMAN
Our recent visit to St. Louis showcased the amazing diversity of venues and culinary offerings for meetings and conventions of all types and sizes. Add in the friendly Midwestern hospitality we experienced and approximately 400 flights available daily, and the recipe for success is evident. We visited well-known sights and venues such as the iconic mid-century Gateway Arch (tallest monument in the U.S.), located in the new $380 million Gateway National Park on the Mississippi River (the park will feature spaces for groups at the Historic Old Courthouse, circa 1862, when it opens in 2025) and the Anheuser-Busch Complex as well as new venues like the City Foundry and the Missouri Botanical Gardens. In this city, planners might be hard-pressed to make a decision on what space to book; luckily, planners need not fret as help is available from Explore St. Louis, with a knowledgeable and passionate team to assist in bringing a meeting to fruition successfully in the heart of America.
Says Jennifer Poindexter, Director of the Explore St. Louis team, “Once the convention or meeting is sold, we provide the support, and we make sure the framework is set. Our goal is to engage and create a better attendee experience, and to make sure our hospitality partners have had a chance to play a part in the meetings and conventions. We work to understand the groups’ demographics, intentions and goals, so we can help make sure their St. Louis experience is built out to be memorable and unique to [the city].”
For groups wanting to be part of a CSR project, Poindexter points out that her team will connect groups to local organizations such as the St. Louis ArtWorks, helping children create art and express themselves.
Here’s a sampling of 10 places to meet, eat and play, including three offering accommodations:
1. America’s Center Convention Complex’s (AC NEXT GEN) expansion and transformation will be completed by June 2025, when it will host the MPI 2025 Annual Convention. The $259 million expenditure will add a new entrance with canopy and the America’s Center name in LED lighting, and a 72,000-sf exhibit hall expansion, including 23 fully enclosed loading docks that offer easy in/out. Style-wise, the facade will incorporate brick-hued metal cladding—a nod to the fabric of the architecture of St. Louis—as well as the addition of a food farm with planting beds, a new second entrance, and the much anticipated conversion of an 88,000-space parking lot adjacent to the center into a green space that attendees can enjoy.
Explains Brian Hall, CMO for Explore St. Louis, “The new outside space will be controlled by us and we can offer visitors the opportunity to connect with the outside, which is so important to event organizers these days. By the end of the year, the new lobby will be completed as well as the park. All said and done, the project will have 574,000 sf of contiguous exhibit space, including the Dome’s floor for exhibitions. The complex also sports a theater for general sessions and a second floor ballroom with a total of 26,000 sf.”
2. Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis brings planners 20,000 sf of recently refreshed meeting space. The property’s 200 modern rooms have also been refreshed, many offering views of the Gateway Arch (rooms are on the ninth to 19th floor, so the views are amazing) and located walking distance from downtown entertainment and dining. We loved the floor-to-ceiling windows in our guestroom, which features a relaxing color palette of blues, taupes and grey and light wood furniture. Large bathrooms with separate showers, bath and private commodes are offered along with great lighting and bedside plugs/ports for electronics.
“The hotel can be bought out and groups can have total control of the flexible and diverse indoor/outdoor meeting space options, including a rooftop that can host 200 on flow adjacent to the sky lobby,” says Mia Casey, the hotel’s Conference Services Manager. The property sports a recently opened RK Bar in the outdoor space as well as Michelin star chef Gordon Ramsay’s first St. Louis restaurant Ramsay’s Kitchen, where we enjoyed his classic dishes such as mouthwatering crabcakes and St. Louis Style Ribs, a nod to the local cuisine. Most of the meeting space is located on the sixth floor, which includes a ballroom that can hold up to 480 or be divided into three spaces with airwalls. There is also a nice pre-function area with lots of light and an adjacent outdoor terrace. Off the Sky Lobby on the eighth floor, groups can also enjoy the Topgolf Swing Suite, ideal for teambuilding with golf, hockey and even zombie dodge ball games accompanied by drinks and elevated comfort food. The hotel also offers a 12,000-sf spa that can be privatized for a 4-hour block.
3. Now a Curio Collection by Hilton, the historic, four-diamond, 567-room St. Louis Union Station Hotel is housed in the former St. Louis Union Train Station replete with vintage frescos, gold leaf details, mosaics and stained glass. In the hotel’s Grand Hall Lounge groups can enjoy a spectacular 3D light show daily at 5 p.m. while sipping drinks and enjoying bites. The property features 130,000 sf of flexible meeting space. Adjacent and connected to the hotel is the St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station, where groups can have receptions while viewing thousands of sea creatures. The venue also offers a ropes course for teambuilding as well as other attractions and spaces to gather.
4. The City Foundry, a new hip, mixed use urban development space, was once a working foundry making electrical parts. The main building, with its towering ceilings and exposed pipes, is now home to St. Louis’ first food hall with 19 local chef kitchen experiences. Here groups can arrange for a wristband program so attendees can roam and try the different eateries to their liking. The development also houses Puttshack, a tech-infused mini golf experience with music and LED lights and its own bars and kitchen that can host up to a total of 600 people for a private event and with many different areas for smaller groups as well as use of the four 9-hole courses. Another venue, located in the back of the food hall, and which can be privatized, is 18Rails. Operated by Butler’s Pantry, the space can host up to 350 seated and up to 500 for receptions. There is built-in AV and LED lighting. Another exciting venue for smaller groups is the new underground speakeasy, None of the Above; it’s an intimate space that can host up to 70 max.
5. Missouri Botanical Garden, a 79-acre attraction with a research center, has a number of areas for groups. Meeting rooms inside the main visitor center include an auditorium with a screen that can hold 200 classroom-style for lectures. The adjacent Bayer Event Center, opened in 2023, offers a private entrance with an event reception area, pre-function space and main ballroom that can host a seated dinner for 320 with a stage. There is also the Spink Pavilion, facing the Grand Plaza and overlooking reflecting pools that can accommodate 130 for cocktails and 90 seated for dinner. Food and drink for groups at the botanical garden is with Catering St. Louis. There are also different guided tours for groups of 25 at a time and also self-guided opportunities.
6. Ballpark Village has many options for planners for cocktail receptions, dining, gaming and, of course, sports-related parties and viewing. “As we are located right next to Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals, we do a ton of conference-related business due to the many hotels and the convention center nearby, as well as being surrounded by hotels that are able to host 1,000-2,000 person meetings,” says Brittany Morland, Director of Private Event Sales for Ballpark Village. “The main venue is Bally Sports Live, which can host up to 1,800 persons, and we have large screens (64 ft. wide) that are included and add to the experience.” Ballpark Village has areas for smaller groups such as Cardinals Nation, which has a rooftop venue for 350. It’s popular during baseball season as groups can view the stadium. Corporate clients will also love PBR St Louis: A Cowboy Bar, with a riding bull experience that can also be set up for meetings and then breakout for F&B. The venue includes AV and can accommodate a maximum of 500. Also part of the Ballpark Village is Sports & Social. This venue can host up to 250 seated and the outside area on the plaza can host 1,000. There is also a stage that groups can use.
7. Baileys’ Restaurants group offers eight restaurants and venues for dinners and receptions. Rooster can accommodate up to 220 downstairs for breakfast, lunch or dinner, as well as 80 upstairs and 40 in a smaller private area on the main floor. Willow, an event space for up to 230 seated or 260 for cocktails, is a blank canvas, located in the middle of downtown St. Louis and featuring floor-to-ceiling windows. Baileys’ Restaurants cater all of their spaces and restaurants with seasonal menus and custom cocktails.
8. Olive + Oak is a short drive from downtown and located in St. Louis County. This gem is more than a restaurant with spaces to meet in as well as enjoy the stellar cuisine. “A sought-after space is the Atrium, which used to be an auto body shop and sports a beautiful wall of original windows and a fire pit. It can accommodate 50 for dinner or cocktails,” says Casy Fletcher, Director of Events for Olive + Oak. “We also can offer the Hall for presentations or receptions/dinners for up to 220,” adds Fletcher. Our group had dinner in the main restaurant, where we dined on delicious local beet carpaccio, fried green tomatoes and a tasty Gaucho steak.
9. The Anheuser-Busch Complex experience is steeped in history, and this brewery has an array of tours, experiences and spaces for meetings, receptions and dinners. Of note for planners, parking and security are included. The covered Biergarten is the most popular space, which seats up to 300 or 500 for cocktails and is available year-round. Planners using all of the campus can book up to 2,000 for drinks, bites and buffet tables. The brewery handles all of the F&B on premises. Another iconic area within the campus is the St. Louis Stables, built in 1885, where the classic antique coaches are on display and a VIP experience meeting a Budweiser Clydesdale is available. The stables venue can hold 60 for a reception. Groups can also have tastings straight from the barrels in the main historic building.
10. The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, is in an upscale business district less than 15 minutes from downtown. It offers 299 guest rooms and a total of almost 30,000 sf of indoor/outdoor meeting space including a ballroom, amphitheater and smaller breakout meeting rooms. The hotel is going through a $1.6 million lobby refresh with a modern take, to be completed this August. The property offers a dynamic culinary experience, the Casa Don Alfonso restaurant with Mediterranean dishes from the chef who hails from the Sorrento Coast of Italy.
explorestlouis.com/meetings-conventions; fourseasons.com/stlouis; hilton.com/en/hotels/stlcuqq-st-louis-union-station-hotel; oliveandoak.oohosp.com/events; ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/stlrz-the-ritz-carlton-st-louis/overview; stlballparkvillage.com; stlouisaquarium.com; cityfoundry.com; baileysrestaurants.com/private-events; mobot.org; anheuserbusch.com; butlerspantry.com; puttshack.com