Missouri State Cross Country
Facility
What Are Coaches Saying About MSU and
Springfield?
"Missouri State's (NCAA National Championship) bid seems ideal. They've got a
great new course
with a city large enough to host
the meet, a central location and mild weather. All
of those would
greatly improve our national meet." –
Bob Braman, Head Coach, Florida State University
The location of Missouri State University’s cross
country facility may be its most desirable feature
for championship competition. Located just minutes
from the MSU campus, downtown Springfield, Mo. and
major hotel areas the property is bordered by a
four-lane highway and has multiple highway exits
serving the property.
Many wonder how a property such as this remains
undeveloped and our response is “look a little
deeper”. The Missouri State Cross Country Facility
is uniquely located on the surface of a 2-million
square foot underground manufacturing and
warehousing development called Springfield
Underground, Inc. Years of limestone mining have
left the perfect environment for corporations
seeking to develop a high security and climate
controlled headquarters underground while preserving the surface
for cross country.
The accessibility of the facility is unmatched when
compared to other major cross country venues. The
property borders four-lane Highway 65 and is
sandwiched between historic Route 66 (Kearney St)
and Division St. In addition the facility is
only one mile from Interstate-44. Multiple highway
exits and gated entrances to the property allow for
the traffic demands of a major sporting event.
Springfield is ideally situated for national
competition as it is near the geographic center of
the lower 48 states.
Springfield,
which was named by Sports Illustrated as
Missouri’s top sports town,
is the state’s third-largest city. With a
population within the city limits of
198,000 and a
Metropolitan Statistical Area including over 398,000
the
city has the resources to host major
events. Springfield is a one-of-a-kind
city for
meetings, conventions and recreation. Nearly 50
percent of the U.S. population lives within a
500-mile radius of Springfield. Offering over
6,000 hotel rooms as well as ample convention space,
Springfield has consistently been ranked by the
"Corporate Travel Index" as one of the least
expensive convention cities in the nation. Easy
access via major highways, interstates and the
recently-expanded Springfield-Branson National
Airport allows Springfield to
be a prime special
event destination. In one of the country's most
scenic regions, Springfield and the Ozarks offer
fabulous entertainment, great attractions and
wonderful shopping. (Click
here for Photos of Area Attractions)
Getting to Springfield is easy.
The city is located in
the southwest region of Missouri and is an easy
drive from cities such as Kansas City, Mo., St.
Louis, Mo, Tulsa, Okla. and Fayetteville, Ark.
The Springfield-Branson
National Airport (SGF) is one of the fastest growing
air hubs in the nation. With more than 50
daily departures the airport is serviced by
Allegiant Air, American Connection, American Eagle,
Delta Connection, Northwest Airlines, and United
Express. SGF is also currently in construction
of a brand new terminal due to open in 2009 that is
sure to bring even greater air access to the area.
A new Branson Airport will also open in May 2009
providing an additional airport option just 45
minutes away. Currently there are NCAA teams that have used SGF to
access Fayetteville, Ark. for the NCAA indoor track
and field national championships.
Known as the destination airport for nearby tourist
mecca Branson and the Ozark Mountain Country,
Springfield-Branson National Airport is the regional
hub for one-stop flights to more than 400
destinations, including 18 foreign cities. In 2005
a record number 900,000 passengers passed through SGF’s gates. SGF’s list of non-stop cities
continues to grow as SGF currently offers non-stop
travel to 12 destinations including Atlanta,
Chicago, Dallas / Ft. Worth, Denver,
Detroit, Las Vegas, Memphis, Minneapolis, Orland,
Pheonix, St. Louis and Tampa.
Located on approximately 3,000 acres at the
northwest edge of the City, the Springfield-Branson
National Airport is a major regional hub. The
current 200,000 square foot terminal building offers
gates for ten aircraft with loading from
second-level boarding bridges as well as
ground-level. The new terminal project will add
eight additional gates to SGF with plans allowing
future expansion to 70 gates.
SGF also includes a 22,000 square-foot covered
"Intermodal Facility" integrating the transfer of
airline passengers and tour groups to motor coaches
allowing teams to board buses without having to go
outdoors. The facility can simultaneously
accommodate seven motor coaches inside, and has two
gates for charter aircraft.
|
Direct Flight Options To and From
Springfield's |
 |
AMERICAN
(AA)
1.800.433.7300
Flies to Chicago, Dallas, St. Louis
|
| |
|
 |
ALLEGIANT
(G)
1.702.505.8888
Flies to Las Vegas, Orlando, Tampa,
Phoenix
|
| |
|
 |
DELTA
(DL)
1.800.221.1212
Flies to Atlanta
|
| |
|
 |
NORTHWEST
(NW)
1.800.225.2525
Flies to Detroit, Minneapolis, Memphis
|
| |
|
 |
UNITED
(UA)
1.800.864.8331
Flies to Chicago, Denver
|
Springfield is serviced by most major rental car
companies including Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz,
National and Thrifty. The area also features
service by multiple charter bus companies such as
Branson Shuttle, Fisk Transportation, Grey Line,
Show-Me Coaches and White Knight Bus Lines with
buses seating 18 to 58 passengers available
including entertainment and sleeper coaches. In
addition to the national companies Springfield’s
Fisk Transportation provides a extensive fleet of
rental vans in sizes of 7, 10, 12 and 15 passengers
sure to keep the supply above visiting team’s
demands.
In
addition to the Springfield-Branson National airport
a new regional airport, the Branson Regional
Airport, is under construction is nearby Branson,
Mo. This new commercial airport will be open
in the spring of 2009 adding another airport option
for teams making their way to Springfield. Low
costs commercial carriers for this airport are set
to be announced in the coming months.
For those traveling by ground Springfield can be
accessed by several four lane highways and
interstates including Interstate-44, and Missouri
Highway’s 13, 60, and 65 which provide easy access
from any direction.
Below are distances from major
cities and various Midwest university cities and
towns:
|
Fayetteville, AR - 145 mi.
Jonesboro, AR - 223 mi.
Little Rock, AR - 234 mi.
Ames, IA - 391 mi.
Cedar Falls, IA - 482 mi.
Des Moines, IA - 348 mi.
Iowa City, IA - 459 mi.
Chicago, IL - 512 mi.
Carbondale, IL - 350 mi
Champaign, IL - 399 mi.
Charleston, IL - 356 mi.
Macon, IL - 329 mi.
Normal, IL - 386 mi. |
Peoria, IL - 386 mi.
Evansville, IN - 389 mi.
Indianapolis, IN - 458 mi.
Terre Haute, IN - 386 mi.
Lawrence, KS - 205 mi.
Manhattan, KS - 287 mi.
Topeka, KS - 230 mi.
Wichita, KS - 248 mi.
New Orleans, LA - 694 mi.
Minneapolis, MN - 602 mi.
Branson, MO - 35 mi.
Cape Girardeau, MO - 314 mi.
|
Columbia, MO - 206 mi.
Joplin, MO - 80 mi.
Kansas City, MO - 174 mi.
St. Louis, MO - 220 mi.
Lincoln, NE - 365 mi.
Omaha, NE - 385 mi.
Norman, OK - 301 mi.
Okla. City, OK - 290 mi.
Tulsa, OK - 185 mi.
Memphis, TN - 285 mi.
Nashville, TN - 480 mi.
Dallas, TX - 430 mi.
|
Once you arrive in Springfield your stay will be
comfortable. Springfield, Mo has over 6,000
hotel rooms, with accommodations as close as one
mile from the competition facility. Not that
Springfield’s hotel offerings should ever come up
short several surrounding cities, including Branson,
Mo. and Marshfield, Mo, can provide significant
additional lodging. The number of hotel offerings
in the Springfield area should allow teams and
spectators to always find an affordable hotel rate
regardless of demand.
There are several options for a headquarters hotel in Springfield.
A trio of hotels will serve as headquarters for the
2009 Midwest Regional including the University
Plaza
Hotel and Convention Center, the Oasis
Hotel and Convention Center and the Doubletree Hotel.
In
addition to hotel accommodations the
University Plaza, located
by the MSU campus and
just five miles west of the
Missouri State cross country facility via the
four-lane Chestnut Expressway features 43,000 square feet of meeting space.
Another 112,000 square feet of meeting space
available directly across the street at the recently
constructed Springfield Expo Center.
Should MSU be awarded an NCAA National Championship
teams staying at
the University Plaza and other nearby hotels will be
treated to a festival like atmosphere as they will
be able to walk from their
hotel to banquets, meetings, the MSU's campus and
to downtown dining and entertainment. Ample
parking is available in this area at adjacent parking lots
used for the Springfield Expo Center and Springfield’s “AA”
Baseball Stadium.
From pre-race meals to post race celebrations
restaurants and catering services of all kinds are
in high supply in the Springfield area. Also of
note to the running community in 2003 Springfield
banned smoking in its local restaurants.
MSU Cross Country Site Is Already A Major Event Host
The
Missouri State Cross Country Facility site is
already accustomed to hosting a major event. Every
July 4th the “I Love America” festival
brings thousands of people and their vehicles to the
site. On July 4, 2006 115,000 people visited the
site for this live televised event. MSU Cross Country and the festival are
working together to share equipment and plans in
order to insure that both groups events are able to
enjoy this outstanding facility.
Some key features of the property include:
·
The
entire property is fenced with multiple gated
entrances / exits for admissions and security.
·
Major event security and traffic plans already in
place for facility by city and police.
·
Permanent power supply installed at course
(Generators will be in use on some parts of event
site).
·
Wi-Fi internet available throughout the property for
media and fans.
·
Fenced tree lined area directly by starting line and
close to finish line for team area and meet
operations.
·
Significant parking area that has been used for
large festival events.
