In July 2019, Crypticon KC closed out its second and final stint in St. Joseph.
A few days later, the Red Lion Hotel, which housed most of the horror and sci-fi convention’s guests, closed its doors.
Located across the street from the Civic Arena, where the convention was held, it was apparent the hotel wanted one last cash infusion before closing its doors.
Ask anyone involved with that convention and they’ll tell you how much they disliked their stay at the hotel. Look on Yelp, Trip Advisor or Kayak and you’ll see the same.
With the improvements in Downtown St. Joseph has been in making in the past decade, from the renovations to the Civic Arena to new dining and bar options, a good, functioning hotel is needed to bring in bigger touring acts and tourists to the area.
This is why I cheer a $27 million economic development recently announced by the city of St. Joseph that will convert the former Red Lion Hotel into a Marriott-branded location.
Giving the boarded-up hotel some much-needed renovations provides an incentive for conventions and events to come to Downtown St. Joseph and for people to have a place to stay that doesn’t involve driving across the city. People can go out to bars, restaurants and local concerts and walk or get a short ride back to the hotel. It also provides local businesses with out-of-town foot traffic that might not come if people are staying at a place on the Belt Highway or farther away.
There are still a lot of hurdles to clear, like making sure this isn’t another slapdash coat of paint. There’s also the long-lasting perception that this could be another unforgivable failure of a project like Urban Renewal in the 1970s.
My thoughts are that Downtown St. Joseph can’t win if we don’t give this our best shot. People can’t be coming to the area for an event at the Civic Arena or Missouri Theater and have a good perception of the city when the first thing they see is a closed, blighted hotel.
Good things are happening Downtown and this feels like another positive step forward.
