Forward momentum
This year, the SCVB hopes to capitalize on the bicentennial momentum and the capital city’s many advantages.
Springfield is the second largest tourism stop behind Chicago, Farley explains, because it’s centrally located, affordable and offers something to everyone.
“In these times, when people are taking shorter trips, we have an advantage,” he says. “We are so engrossed in Lincoln that it’s familiar to us, but think of someone being outside [Illinois]. We have to do good domestic marketing to tell people there’s a lot to do in Springfield.”
The four-year-old, interactive Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum has the largest attendance of any presidential museum in the country. Spokesman David Blanchette says they’re now working to give people a new reason to visit.
An exhibit at the museum, called “Team of Rivals” after a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin, will show how the new president selected his cabinet and what led to the firing on Fort Sumter and the start of the Civil War. It will open in October, prior to the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s election in November 2010, his Farewell Address to Springfield as president-elect in February 2011 and the start of the Civil War in April 2011.
Springfield also has plans in the works for a Living History project that will bring reenactments and costumed interpreters to city streets this summer, and a celebration of the 100th birthday of Ronald Reagan, born and raised in Tampico, Ill., in 2011.
“It’s critical that we keep that excitement level high,” Blanchette says. “In a lot of what we’re doing, we try to think outside the box and offer programs that are unusual or appeal to a nontraditional audience.
“That’s what the museum is all about — bringing in people who love history, but also turning other visitors into history lovers.”
They want to keep visitors in Springfield for more than one day, Farley says, and remind them that there’s more to the city than Lincoln. For example, Knight’s Action Park showcases rides and a water park, while Southwind Park will soon offer attractions for people with disabilities and their families.
“Lincoln is obviously our No. 1 product, but there’s lots of other things,” Farley says. “We have to go outside of Lincoln, and see what people would be interested in while they’re here.”
Modern conventions
Springfield has another advantage over other communities — an active convention business supported by large, multi-use facilities like the 9,000-seat Prairie Capital Convention Center and the 366-acre Illinois State Fairgrounds.
Brian Oaks, PCCC general manager, says conventions and concerts, as well as trade shows and family events, have continued to flock to Springfield. All of these events generate eco-
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According to the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, eight out of nine local historic sites saw an increase in visitors in 2009. The Old State Capitol was visited by roughly 165,000 in 2009, a 39 percent increase over 2008.