Legislature greenlights BOS Center expansion

June 7, 2024 80

SPRINGFIELD — Recently passed legislation in the Illinois General Assembly could result in a significant expansion of Springfield’s premier events complex.

Legislation greenlighting a proposed $93 expansion of the Bank of Springfield Center (BOS Center) could very well become a reality if signed by Gov. JB Pritzker.

The legislation was spearheaded by Springfield-based Republican state Rep. Mike Coffey, who helped pen the bill with the idea of expanding the BOS Center. Coffey also serves as chairman of the Springfield Metro Exposition and Auditorium Authority (SMEAA), which governs operations at the BOS Center.

“I do think this project is something that will really benefit and save the downtown,” Coffey said.

The passed legislation — House Bill 3144 — would grant the Sangamon County Board the ability to impose a sales tax up to 3% on gross rental receipts from hotels within the county. The sales tax proceeds would allow the county to finance the proposed expansion of the BOS Center.

The provision would also allow an option for an additional long-term funding mechanism for the project. Coffey said financial institutions have told county leadership the provisions they want before considering lending money to finance the expansion project.

The bill was inserted as one paragraph inside a 181-page legislative bill that would eliminate the state grocery tax of 1% and granting local governments the ability to impose their own grocery taxes to recover any resulting lost revenue.

The bill’s section regarding the county board states that money from a new hotel room tax would have to be spent on “sports, arts, or other entertainment, tourism facilities, or programs” to promote tourism and job growth in the area. It would also be spent “for the general health and well-being of the citizens of the county.”

The bill is en route to Gov. Pritzker’s desk for his signature.

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Jake Leonard

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Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.