Dock project could boost Cape Girardeau's river tourism

Cape Girardeau is missing the boat -- literally.

To be more accurate, Mayor Bob Fox and others say Cape Girardeau is missing many boats every year because it lacks a riverfront dock.

"This is something that could really benefit downtown," Fox told the Southeast Missourian as he described his vision for an upgraded dock for "pleasure boats" in the Red Star district north of downtown as well as a larger docking facility near the Broadway floodgate for passenger ships and other commercial vessels.

"This would create businesses and jobs," the mayor said, explaining without a suitable dock on the downtown riverfront, Cape Girardeau is often bypassed by some of the cruise companies traversing the Mississippi River.

In addition, he said a downtown dock could be used by other commercial vessels and the Corps of Engineers. "It would be multipurpose in that sense," he said.

A woman takes a photo of Queen of the Mississippi, left, and American Queen while the riverboats dock Aug. 23, 2017, at Riverfront Park in downtown Cape Girardeau.Southeast Missourian file

Without a new dock in the Red Star district and a commercial docking facility in the downtown area, Fox said he fears Cape Girardeau will lose business to other communities, such as Paducah, Kentucky, where river docks are available.

Liz Haynes, executive director of Old Town Cape, agrees.

"Bringing a marina and docking facility to Cape Girardeau would be a real game changer for our local community," she said. "Obviously, more folks would be stopping in Cape Girardeau during their trips down the river, which means more foot traffic and revenue for our downtown businesses."

The Mississippi River, Haynes said, "is such an incredible asset for our downtown community. The more ways we can leverage it to benefit our entire region, the better."

Visit Cape director Brenda Newbern has tracked river tourism data in other communities and has several examples of how docks attract pleasure boaters and passenger vessels.

The American Duchess docks at Riverfront Park on July 28, 2018 in Cape Girardeau.Southeast Missourian file

"The Dubuque (Iowa) dock/marina was headed for a record-breaking year until the pandemic hit in 2020," she said. "And while the leisure boat traffic hasn't been recorded for our stretch of the river, an article (about) the Paducah dock reported they had 359 reservations with boaters spending a total of 554 room nights in 2019."

Newbern said additional tourism from passenger vessels and private boats (not to mention kayaks, canoes, fishing boats and other marine traffic) will encourage more business activity downtown as well as at area hotels.

After a slowdown in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Newbern said she expects river cruise lines to boost their voyages up and down the river in 2021.

"If we have a dock it may allow for more dockings here in Cape Girardeau as they cruise to the Gulf Coast in the future," she said, adding it may be possible to share the cost of a downtown dock with one or more of the cruise lines.

Other funding, according to Fox, could come from government infrastructure development grants and other sources.

"There are all sorts of programs to enhance river travel and encourage development up and down the river," he said, "so now's the time to capitalize on some of that."

The mayor said he has had initial discussions with MRCTI, the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, about the steps Cape Girardeau would need to take to begin a downtown dock project.

He has also had a conversation about it with Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt. "We are in a unique position in Missouri to have one of our senators, Sen. Blunt, serving as co-chair of the Senate's Mississippi River caucus, and (8th District U.S. Rep.) Jason Smith is the co-chair on the House side of the Mississippi River caucus, so they are both fully aware of what we're talking about."

The next step, Fox said, will be to discuss the project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers followed by a study to determine its feasibility. Depending on the study's findings and the identification of funding sources, the project could become a reality within the next couple of years.

"If we can get a feasibility study done this year and have some grant opportunities come up, you could be looking at next year or the year after that," he said. "It just depends on how it goes."

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