Posted on: August 7, 2024, 02:22h.
Last updated on: August 7, 2024, 02:30h.
The Ameristar Casino Resort Spa in eastern Missouri’s St. Charles near the Illinois border has announced an expansion of its convention and meeting facilities.
Owned and operated by Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming, company officials say the Ameristar St. Charles is set to expand its event space by approximately 43,000 square feet. Once complete, the riverboat resort’s convention space will span 65,000 square feet.
Ameristar General Manager Doug Lang told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the casino regularly turns down convention business because of inadequate space or limited availability.
This is not a build it and they will come moment,” Lang said. “We look at the business we have today as well as the denials and regrets that we have from companies and groups that would like to come to St. Charles but can’t because we don’t have the space they need.”
Lang said convention space has become an increasingly growing problem in the St. Charles-St. Louis region over the past half-decade. The Ameristar is one of four casinos in the St. Louis Metro area along with Horseshoe, Hollywood, and River City.
Trickle Down Impact
St. Louis is a major, centrally located US city near the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Boyd officials believe St. Louis should be a bigger convention destination than it currently is, and rival Indianapolis, Chicago, and Nashville for such large-scale gatherings.
The casino company thinks more convention space will entice bigger events to St. Louis.
The city’s primary convention hall is The St. Louis Convention Center, dubbed America’s Center, with about 574,000 square feet of flexible exhibition space. The Family Arena’s 18,000 square feet is another frequented facility.
Boyd spokesperson David Strow says the Ameristar’s convention expansion will bring new events and attendees to Missouri’s second-most populated city. The influx of travelers, Strow says, will benefit the entire region, as well as the Ameristar’s casino competitors.
If we can get more people to Ameristar for conventions, then that creates an entire ripple effect that benefits all of St. Charles,” he said.
Strow didn’t specify the cost of the Ameristar St. Charles convention center expansion, but said it’s part of Boyd’s $100M capital spending initiative that includes a new casino at the site of its former Jokers Wild Casino near Las Vegas in Henderson.
Conventioneers Coveted
Las Vegas wouldn’t be Las Vegas without the many conventions that keep the city’s large resort hotels occupied during the week. Convention guests are highly sought after, as such business travelers tend to spend more than leisure guests.
With their room stays typically paid for by their employer, and many also receiving per diems, convention guests in Las Vegas average more expenditures than visitors in town who didn’t attend a convention.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) says convention travelers spend more than nonconvention travelers on accommodations, food and drink, and local transportation. They also gamble an average of about $700. Nonconvention guests gamble more at nearly $800.
Convention business isn’t vital only to Las Vegas, but also to regional gaming markets like St. Louis/St. Charles. With Ameristar conveniently located less than 10 miles from Lambert International, St. Louis’ primary commercial airport and the 34th busiest air hub in the US, the casino’s bet on more conventions is presumably a sound wager.