OSAGE CENTRE ADDS TO THE TOURISM LURE OF CAPE GIRARDEAU

Amidst all the recent hoopla over the successful passage of the Cape Girardeau school bonds and the announcement that Procter & Gamble will be making a multimillion-dollar investment in a new plant north of town, there was another major milestone in the community's march of progress.

The Osage Community Centre, a $2.5 million complex of meeting areas and recreational sports, plus kitchen facilities, opened with appropriate fanfare: a ribbon cutting by the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce.

For five years, the Parks and Recreation Department and the Convention and Visitors Bureau have worked together to make the center a reality. Its location on Kingshighway near the Mount Auburn/Lexington intersection makes that entrance to Cape Girardeau even more imposing. The sleek, modern lines of the facility's architecture encompass a space that includes one area the size of two basketball courts and capable of seating 1,800 persons.

Cape Girardeau is now blessed with meeting spaces to fit almost every occasion. In addition to the meeting rooms -- large and small -- plus dining facilities offered by the city's hotels, there are three major public buildings for conventions and meetings: The Show Me Center for large events, the Arena Building for smaller events and now the Osage Community Centre for activities too small for one or too large for the other.

Although there will, no doubt, be many community uses for the new community center, one of its primary aims is to boost tourism. Any number of groups looking for a regional or state meeting site now will have another option when considering Cape Girardeau. The Convention and Visitors Bureau will be promoting the new center along with other facilities here in the coming weeks and months.

Cape Girardeau has been successful in attracting some fairly large groups for meetings that usually last more than one day. It is likely that pace will pick up, which will make Cape Girardeau a destination for thousands more visitors every year.