10 Reasons You Should Attend the 2020 Club Industry Show in St. Louis

St. Louis? The Club Industry Show is moving to St. Louis in 2020? Yes! The Club Industry Show will be Oct. 14-16, 2020, at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri. Chicago is a great city, but the Midwest has more great cities than Chicago—and St. Louis is one of those cities. We are excited to show it off to you at next year’s show. Personally, I am so excited by this move that I wish the show was next week. Check out the video below to see what St. Louis has to offer and then scroll down to see the 10 reasons we are moving. 

The move has received overwhelming support, but it has left a few people, who associate Club Industry with Chicago, scratching their heads. One of those people queried us on Facebook about the move, and in response to that query, I offered 10 reasons for the move. Here are those 10 reasons:

1. Change is good for the soul. As much as we love Chicago, this move helps us to freshen up the show while bringing in new attendees, especially since in the last three years we have been positioning the Club Industry Show as a conference and networking event (with a leadership role in healthcare and fitness integration) rather than a trade show. The move to a new city helps us to emphasize the changes we have been undergoing.

2. You picked it. Club Industry surveyed our readers and show attendees about a year ago, asking where you would like to go if we moved the show. St. Louis was in the top two, and it was the city we were able to secure a venue in.

3. Togetherness. At the St. Louis Union Station Hotel, the conference session spaces are all together (rather than being on three floors like they are in Chicago), which helps create an even more cohesive event for attendees.

4. Networking and entertainment. The networking spaces and entertainment options in and around the venue are abundant. The venue includes several restaurants, a ropes course, an aquarium and a carousel. Ballpark Village (which includes Busch Stadium) is a few blocks away with additional entertainment options. Plus, the Gateway Arch is viewable from the hotel at just a mile away—and a beautiful urban pathway to the Arch and back will make for a great run/walk next year.

5. We like to show off. The Midwest, referred to as “flyover country” by those who don’t know any better, includes a large number of cities worth visiting, and we’re proud to help show off one of those cities. St. Louis not only has the Arch and Ballpark Village, but it has an amazing (and free) zoo, a unique children’s museum called the City Museum, several art museums, a science museum—and best yet, the Anheuser-Busch brewing facility (open for tours and beer tasting!) and Ted Drewes frozen custard (unfortunately, not open to tours, but open for frozen custard eating!). It’s time to broaden your perspective of the Midwest and experience one of its other gems.

6. Out of the basement. The exhibit hall space in St. Louis offers high, glass ceilings that the exhibitors want plus it is bright, airy and right by all the conference session rooms, making it easy for conference attendees to stop by booths between sessions.

7. Happy vendors. The union labor in St. Louis is cheaper for our vendors than it is in Chicago, which makes the vendors happy.

8. Happy attendees. The hotel rooms are $100 cheaper per night in St. Louis than in Chicago, which makes our attendees happy.

9. Easy access. Getting to St. Louis is easy. Traffic in St. Louis is much lighter than in Chicago for those who drive in. For those flying in, St. Louis is a focus city for Southwest Airlines, which means that it has non-stop flights from most major cities. The airport is 15 minutes from the venue. And Amtrak offers $31 fares (pricing checked in early October 2019) from Chicago to St. Louis to make it easy for our Chicago fans to get to the event. Plus, the Amtrak station is right across the street from the hotel.

10. Stunning venue. The St. Louis Union Station hotel is absolutely stunning and historic but also recently updated with all the latest technology—including the ability to project a spectacular light show on the ceiling of its gorgeous lobby. The conference rooms, ballrooms and sleeping rooms are clean and visually appealing. Check out the video of the venue below, and then scroll down to read more. 

What more can I say? We are absolutely in love with this venue and the idea of going to St. Louis where we likely will be again in 2021 before taking the show to a whole new city somewhere in this big country so we can reach more people with our education and networking. We hope you will come along for the ride.

If this has you psyched as much as it does us, you can get yourself registered now by going here. And then save the date of Oct. 14-16, 2020, to be in St. Louis for the 2020 Club Industry Show.