By Kaitlyn Wallace
When considering major cities for meetings and events, many planners make the mistake of considering only top tourism destinations. Chicago, Washington DC, New York City, and Los Angeles often come to mind first, followed perhaps by Boston, Philadelphia, San Diego, and maybe, if you’re lucky, Miami or Atlanta. By many major corporate planners, St. Louis is overlooked as a meeting and events destination, relegated to dreaded “flyover city” status, like other Midwestern metro areas.
Of course, we know that this underestimation is a mistake. St. Louis contains a plethora of semi-hidden event gems that produce fantastic conferences and meetings every year. One venue in particular is working to push St. Louis into the industry’s national consciousness by showcasing the city’s culture and immersing guests in the beautiful downtown St. Louis experience. Live! by Loews – St. Louis, a new Ballpark Village venue as of 2020, is pushing to put St. Louis on the map as a major national center for meetings and events by pairing excellence with good old Midwestern St. Louis pride.
An Epicenter for Events
Live! by Loews – St. Louis landed with a splash in Ballpark Village in 2020, providing 10,500 square feet of indoor event space, with an additional 6,000 square feet of gorgeous outdoor terrace space. The indoor event space is split over eight beautiful and contemporary event spaces, all with nods to St. Louis’s proud baseball history. These include the Cardinals Ballroom (with a maximum capacity of 560 guests), breakout rooms entitled “Jack Buck,” “Home Plate” and “Dugout,” and spaces for more intimate gatherings, such as “Redbirds” and “Stadium” rooms. These spaces are supported by Live! by Loews – St. Louis’s in-house A/V partner, Encore Presentation Services, which supplies trained technicians and after-hours support for any unmet technical needs.
Live! by Loews – St. Louis also showcases four fantastic on-site dining venues, offering everything from steakhouse classics to elegant cocktails, to high-quality grab-and-go meals (as well as everyone’s favorite– comforting and delicious in-room dining). With a 24-hour business center, free wireless high-speed Internet, and on-call amenities, you’ll be able to stay steps ahead of your colleagues back at home. And with a fitness center fully equipped with Peloton bikes and TechnoGym, you’ll get to burn off some excess energy after your long workday, too.
Showcasing St. Louis
There’s nothing that embodies St. Louis culture like Live! by Loews. A three-minute walk from Busch Stadium, Live! by Loews – St Louis stands as a monument both to the rich baseball history of the city and the new and glamorous atmosphere of the ongoing development projects downtown and throughout the metro area. Live! by Loews – St. Louis adds 17,000 square feet of meeting and outdoor event space, 216 modern guest rooms and 19 suites to the $260 million St. Louis Ballpark Village expansion project, which also supported the addition of luxury retailers, superb restaurants, and beautiful residences to the area, including the 29-story high-rise One Cardinal Way. The expansion project was developed in cooperation with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cordish Companies and spans 700,000 square feet across the neighborhood. It is the second installment of the Ballpark Village development, which first launched in 2014 and added 150,000 square feet of energetic restaurants and bars to the area alongside the Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum, which showcases seven galleries of artifacts, artwork, and Cardinals memorabilia.
With gorgeous, floor-to-ceiling views of downtown St. Louis, the Gateway Arch, and Busch Stadium in every event space, Live! by Loews – St. Louis fully immerses guests and attendees in the culture, architecture, and ambiance of the downtown St. Louis experience. Its prime location also enables guests to take advantage of the many nearby iconic sights and sounds of St. Louis, including monuments like the Gateway Arch, the Old Courthouse, the National Blues Museum, the Peabody Opera House, and more. With nods to St. Louis’s rich baseball culture and history throughout the design of the hotel, guests will leave your event with an unforgettable understanding of what makes St. Louis such a strong contender for a national meeting and events epicenter– as well as a dynamic and exciting tourism destination.
Excellence
With over 60 years of upscale hospitality experience, Loews Hotels & Co has provided leadership to the meetings and events industry across the US for decades. Loews Hotels & Co made a point to invest precisely where loyal Cardinals fans live and breathe– Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village. Live! by Loews – St. Louis exploded onto the meeting and events scene, garnering award after award acknowledging the hotel’s excellence in hospitality and commitment to health and safety for guests and attendees. Live! by Loews – St. Louis is a designated AAA 4-diamond hotel and winner of the following awards:
- 2020 Convention South Reader’s Choice Award
- 2021-2022 WELL Health-Safety Rating for Facility Operations and Management through International WELL Building Institute
- 2021 Top New or Renovated Site Award from Convention South
- 2021 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence
These awards, collected in the midst of a particularly difficult time in the meeting and events industry, reflect a commitment to top-notch service, guest and attendee safety and comfort, and innovation within the industry that is sure to be reflected in every Live! by Loews – St Louis event. At the intersection of upscale hospitality and down-to-earth Midwestern charm, Live! by Loews – St. Louis is poised to become a meetings and events powerhouse of downtown St. Louis.
Bringing St. Louis Style to Meetings and Events
St. Louis’ meeting and events industry has always been strong, but the Ballpark Village development and the contribution of Live! by Loews – St. Louis is bringing the industry scene to new heights. With a commitment to excellence– demonstrated by both the thoughtful construction, layout, and style of the event space and by their numerous awards collected in their early years of operation– and a pledge to showcase and share the wonders of St. Louis, Live! by Loews – St. Louis is playing a major part in bringing attention to the Midwest as a national hotbed of meetings and events innovation. Whether your attendees are sports fans, history buffs, or simply want a taste of the rich arts and culture of downtown St. Louis, Live! by Loews – St. Louis is sure to satisfy and impress for your next meeting or event.
MEET
Kaitlyn Wallace is a contributing writer from St. Louis.
