Show Me success

It's hard to imagine what Cape Girardeau would be without the Show Me Center. For 17 years it has been the location for conventions, graduations, concerts and sporting events in this community.

It helps to attract large organizations and popular entertainers that wouldn't otherwise consider stopping in Cape Girardeau. And now the debt incurred by Cape Girardeau and Southeast Missouri State University to build the Show Me Center is paid off.

Officials from the city and the university celebrated a debt-free partnership last week using a university robot to burn the mortgage paper. About 75 current and former city and university employees and state lawmakers attended the ceremony.

University officials think the Show Me Center has helped promote Cape Girardeau on a national scale. Entertainers like Bob Hope, Bill Cosby and Tina Turner have performed at the Show Me Center. It was also the site for former President Ronald Reagan's visit in 1988.

City and university officials had a great vision for Cape Girardeau when they agreed to partner and build the $16.5 million structure in 1983. The city paid $5 million of that cost. The state paid $8.5 million. And student fees covered $3 million. Today, the structure would cost roughly $60 million to build.

The city has had a significant return on its $5 million investment in the Show Me Center, and the partnership between the city and university proved to be a good one.