Feasibility study recommends headquarters hotel and 55,000‑sq‑ft multipurpose event center to expand Stafford Center

Bill Krueger, senior vice president at Convention Sports & Leisure International (CSL), presented a feasibility and master‑plan study to the Stafford City Council and the Stafford Economic Development Corporation on Oct. 21 recommending a new 55,000‑square‑foot multipurpose, column‑free event hall connected to the existing Stafford Center and a headquarters hotel to support expanded convention, trade show and amateur sporting business.

Why this matters: Krueger’s analysis found demand in state and regional convention, trade show and amateur sports markets that Stafford could capture if the Stafford Center had a larger exhibit‑style flat floor and an adjacent headquarter hotel. The consultant estimated a construction cost of about $43,200,000 for the multipurpose event hall and projected substantial annual economic output improvements with the right hotel and site plan.

Krueger said the Stafford Center now functions more like a conference center: the largest contiguous room is roughly 20,000 square feet, and the facility averages about 174…