Session managers say city works well for meetings while also having low-cost attractions for families of delegates.
The Executive Committee voted to return to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 2025 General Conference Session - St. Louis was the site for the 2005 Session. This decision was made after hearing presentations from George Egwhake, session manager and Sheri Clemmer, associate session manager, during the 2016 Annual Council meetings by representatives of the cities of St. Louis, Missouri and Indianapolis, Indiana.
Before it was brought to a vote on October on 11, the Selection Committee that is responsible for leading the charge of choosing the location of General Conference Sessions, invited six cities to participate in the selection process, including St. Louis, Missouri; Indianapolis, Indiana; Toronto Canada, San Antonio Texas, Minneapolis, Minnesota and Atlanta, Georgia, in the last part of 2015. Atlanta was later removed from the list after it was determined that it would not be available, San Antonio was determined to be too expensive and Toronto didn’t respond to the request for a bid. The six committee members visited the three cities to determine whether the locations met the needs and expectations of the next General Conference session. After initial visits, the committee narrowed down the potential locations to Indianapolis and St. Louis.
St. Louis, Missouri, the site ultimately chosen, is located in the middle of the United States. The St. Louis metro area offers 38,000 hotel rooms which are in excellent condition with 4,500 rooms located directly in the convention’s neighborhood. The downtown trolley will connect you to the convention center, your hotel, and the local cultural and family attractions, many of which will be free to session attendees. The Lambert St. Louis Airport is located only 13 miles from downtown.
Clemmer elaborated on why St. Louis was such a good choice for the 2025 meetings. “The America Center is all under one roof, which makes it very easy to move between the business meetings, the food service and the exhibits”
“The layout of the building works very well for our event. The city itself the downtown area has really been made more vibrant--a lot more shopping, lots of restaurants, and even a grocery store within two blocks within the venue” she added.
Clemmer also emphasized all the fun things St Louis offers families free of charge including a zoo, a botanical garden, and science center.
America's Center, the convention center, located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, is connected to the Dome at America's Center. The dome seats approximately 67,000 and more than $90,000 has been spent on renovating this impressive structure.
The 2020 General Conference Session will take place in Indianapolis.
