Unwilling to wait on the Illinois General Assembly, the Sangamon County Board plans to vote as soon as Sept. 1 to impose a new 3% hotel tax that would set in motion a $60 million expansion of the BOS Center.
State legislation to create an oversight board – the Capital Area Tourism Authority – and help finance a $200 million expansion of Springfield’s publicly owned convention center failed to progress in the spring 2026 session.
The larger expansion project would have also included construction of a new $140 million, state-of-the-art hotel with 200 to 300 rooms connected to the new BOS Center space.
All of the expansion, including the new hotel if that option becomes a reality, would be on county-owned land immediately south of the current convention center that is currently used as a parking lot. The lot is south of East Adams Street, east of South Eighth Street and west of South Ninth Street.
County Board Chair Andy Van Meter said at a news conference Aug. 25 that a bipartisan group of Sangamon County and Springfield governmental leaders, as well as business and labor officials, support proceeding with the BOS Center expansion as soon as possible while state Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, keeps working to pass legislation to get the rest of the project done.
The bipartisan group included state Rep. Mike Coffey, R-Springfield, who said at the news conference that the new direction for the effort is being called “Operation Save Downtown Springfield.”
Springfield has lost several conventions to larger venues in other cities because current spaces at the BOS Center aren’t large enough, according to Coffey.
In addition to serving in the Illinois House, Coffey, whose family owns Saputo’s restaurant, is chairman of the publicly elected panel – the Springfield Metropolitan Exposition and Auditorium Authority Board – that governs the BOS Center.
Van Meter said local leaders want to avoid millions of dollars in increases in construction costs that likely would be associated with the months-long wait for state legislation in the General Assembly to pass a bill that helps pay for the more comprehensive project.
“Our community stands at a crossroads,” Van Meter said. “A small tax on visitors staying in our hotels can produce a significant benefit for the people who live in Sangamon County.”
The Sangamon County Board’s finance committee on Aug. 27 plans to discuss imposing a 3% countywide hotel tax that was first authorized by state legislation in 2024. If the County Board makes a final decision on the new tax Sept. 1, it would begin to be tacked onto hotel bills 30 days after that.
County officials said they hope to begin construction in the fall on what would be a doubling in size of the 65,000-square-foot BOS Center. If that happens, an expanded BOS Center would be complete in about three years, Van Meter said.
The BOS Center first opened in 1979 and underwent an $18 million renovation in 2013.
Van Meter and Coffey brushed aside concerns from the Springfield Hotel & Lodging Association and the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association, which said that the increase in hotel taxes would make it harder for all hotels in Sangamon County to attract guests.
The lodging associations said that if approved, the new countywide hotel tax would bring Springfield’s total hotel tax – which includes the state hotel tax – to 17%, the second highest in the state behind Chicago, which has a 17.39% hotel rate.
Van Meter said two different feasibility studies conducted for the county indicate the new countywide hotel tax would be worth the expense to help pay off long-term borrowing financing the proposed project without harming local tourism and the community’s ability to attract conventions.
Van Meter said he hopes the General Assembly will act on the proposed Capital Area Tourism Authority soon. “But we cannot ignore the millions of dollars that delaying this project could cost taxpayers,” he said.
“Moving ahead now saves money, and if the financing package shows we do not need the full 3%, we are committed to lowering the rate,” Van Meter said.
Steve Galbreath, chief development officer for Garfield Public/Private, the Dallas-based consulting firm retained by county government, said in a news release that each three-month delay could add about $2 million to the cost of the BOS Center expansion, and a 12-month delay could add more than $8 million.
Turner and Coffey said they support the new strategy for the overall project, as did Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher, a Republican.
She said an expanded BOS Center would benefit hotels and businesses throughout Springfield.
“The county is making the right decision by keeping this project moving,” Buscher said. “An expanded BOS Center gives Springfield the opportunity to attract larger events, and that means new visitors staying throughout our city. These visitors are good for downtown and our overall economy as they spend time exploring our city.”
Other supporters of the project include Ryan McCrady, president and CEO of the Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance; Conn’s Hospitality Group LLC President and CEO Karen Conn; Central Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council Aaron Gurnsey; Downtown Springfield Inc. Executive Director Jay Shanle and HSHS St. John’s Hospital and HSHS Central Illinois Market President and CEO Brian Brennan.
This story will be updated.
Dean Olsen is a senior staff writer with Illinois Times. He can be reached at dolsen@illinoistimes.com, 217-679-7810 or www.x.DeanOlsenIT.