Event Venues, Additions & Renovations
New and Coming Soon to Branson
The Branson Convention Center continues to closely monitor the latest
covid-19 developments and follow the precautionary guidelines of the CDC and
other public health organizations. The center’s safe/clean “VenueShield”
initiative is employed at all venues managed by its parent company, ASM Global.
Among the best practices implemented BCC are:
• increased precautionary signage
• regular cleaning of high-touch point areas such as escalator
handrails, stair railings and door handles
• regular cleaning and sanitizing of facility public spaces and rest
rooms
• placing additional hand sanitizer stations in various locations
throughout the facility
The destination offers attendees numerous other ways to stay healthy and relaxed during
their stay. Big Cedar Lodge, for example, has several options for fitness
including yoga on the beach, yoga hikes, PaddleFit SUP, cardio classes, dance
fitness and nature walks. The property also has a comprehensive safety plan in
place to ensure guests stay safe during the pandemic. Among the steps currently
in place are multiple daily disinfections of attraction and shuttle screens, keypads,
handles, phones, counters and switches, with CDC recommended products; extra housekeeping
sanitation steps that include utilizing disinfectant products in sleeping rooms,
with a heightened focus in restrooms, kitchens and dining areas; hand-sanitizing
stations placed strategically across the property; and social-distancing protocols in
necessary outlets.
• Two Big Cedar public courses, Ozarks National and Buffalo Ridge, are the top two courses in the state according to Golf Digest's esteemed biennial rankings, America's Greatest Courses, Best in Missouri.
• Groups that love music will enjoy meeting in Branson: Rolling Stone has just ranked it fifth in its list of the best destinations for country music in 2021.
• Branson has been ranked 16th on the TripAdvisor list of the Top 20 Popular U.S. Destinations in 2021. Branson has been in the Top 20 for a decade and has moved up two spaces since last year.
• Bass Pro Shops has opened Angler’s Lodge in the Ozark Mountain Region. The 94-room property avails guest access to nearby world-class golf courses and other outdoor attractions, including newly opened Payne’s Valley, the first public access course design by Tiger Woods and his TGR Design firm.
• Men’s Journal
has named Ozarks National at Big Cedar Lodge
to the bucket listof golf courses you can drive to from anywhere in the United
States. The course is within a one-day drive of 50 percent of the U.S.
population.
• Frontier Airlines has been named one of the top-10 safest airlines for 2021, according to airlineratings.com.
The air carrier is resuming direct service from Branson in May.
• Branson has been named by Forbes as one of the top ten best places in America to travel right now. The list, published in late February, rated Branson number four based on information gathered from organizations including the CDC COVID Data Tracker and the Harvard-Brown COVID Risk Level Map. Criteria for the ratings include current case counts, population density, average weather, public health guidance, proximity to outdoor activities, and drive times from at least two major American metropolises.
• Branson Restaurants Inc., will open a new dining concept his spring.
HEROES Tastes + Taps
will be a gastropub serving classic and elevated new American cuisine and up
to 24 beers on tap, including popular varieties and smaller
craft brews. The decor will highlight and
honor local heroes from all walks of life.
• Many of Branson's shows, attractions, dining and shopping outlets are open for busine following the pandemic. All entertainment venues, restaurants and retailers currently open are following state-issued guidelines on social distancing.
• Branson Landing, an open-air, waterfront development that is home to over 100 shops and restaurants, as well as the Hilton Promenade Hotel and a $7.5 million water and fire spectacular, has added Landshark Bar & Grill and Paula Deen's Family Kitchen to its dining options. Coming to the development in 2020 is Guy Fieri's Branson Kitchen + Bar. The 7,965-square foot restaurant will offer an outdoor patio with scenic views of Lake Taneycomo, as well as a full menu and extensive beverage offerings including 16 craft beers and a "frozen tap"
bar that dispenses eight different shots from an iced dispenser.
• Andy B’s Tiki Bar is the most recent
addition to Branson Landing. The lakeside bar serves specialty drinks — try the rum-based
Pin Killer — as well as a selection of beers,
spirits and non-alcoholic beverages.
• Two Hiltons: Located downtown and nestled into the Branson Landing Entertainment District is the 294-room Hilton Branson Convention Center, which is connected to the Branson Convention Center. Amenities include the Level 2 Steakhouse onsite, fitness center, as well as both indoor and outdoor pools. The 242-room Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing is the centerpiece of the Branson Landing waterfront development. Amenities include indoor pool, fitness center, with lobby access to the Big Whiskey’s American Restaurant & Bar.
• Chateau on the Lake Resort & Spa was named the “#1 Best Missouri Resort” and “#1
Best Branson Hotel or
Resort” by U.S. News & World Report in its
“2019 Best Hotels” rankings for the second year in a row.
• Big Cedar Lodge was recently named one of the South's best resorts resort by Southern Living magazine.
• The Ascend Hotel Collection by Choice Hotels International, Inc., welcomed the Thousand Hills Golf Resort to its portfolio. The property is just blocks away from Branson's bustling Country Music Highway 76, which features dozens of live-performance theaters, more than 100 restaurants and other family-friendly
attractions.
• Adventure-craving attendees will enjoy one of the city’s newest attractions, Fritz’s Adventure. Bringing the outdoors inside year-round, this dynamic, adventure-based facility has 80,000-plus square feet of explorable space.
• The Aquarium at
the Boardwalk has opened. The new venue is located on
Highway 76 in the heart of the entertainment district.
• WonderWorks, an amusement park
for the mind, opened in May with 48,000 square feet of “edu-tainment”. The
attraction combines education and entertainment with more than 100 hands-on
exhibits that challenge the mind and spark the imagination.
• Silver Dollar City Attractions is making a historic splash for the park’s 60th anniversary by investing $30 million into new offerings, including a raft ride, Mystic River Falls. The new attraction is touted as the "tallest raft ride drop in the western
hemisphere."
More Event Venues
•
The Bass Pro Shops Shooting Academy, with its stunning
backdrop of Table Rock Lake, is an outdoor playground for sportsmen and outdoor
enthusiasts. Designed for all skill levels, this world-class facility offers
training and experience in shooting sports.
• Leave it to Dolly Parton to make meetings easy. Not only is the 1,070-seat Dolly Parton's Stampede Dinner Attraction available for events, but the venue also offers free meeting space, audio visual services, staging and special effects. Private performances are accommodated. The venue has restructured its seating to allow six feet of separation
between each party and has reduced its seating capacity to less than 50
percent and new safety protocols.
• For 27 years, the Haygood family has been wowing audiences in Branson with tight harmonies and virtuoso performances at the 1,211-seat Clay Cooper Theater. Private performances are accommodated.
•
When The Duttons Family
Theater recently reopened with new features
designed to make the completely sanitized venue a safe place for groups to
meet. In addition to implementing a program that completely sanitizes all surfaces
in the facility about once an hour, exhaust fans have been placed in the
ceiling to pull fresh air into the theater on a continuous basis. Face masks
and hand sanitizer are now on sale in the lobby which has been fitted with
plexiglass partitions to reduce contact. Groups of up to ten can sit together
and they will be seated a safe six-foot distance from other audience members.