Hot Springs Convention Center use up

HOT SPRINGS — Hot Springs Convention Center is “starting to come back,” Visit Hot Springs CEO Steve Arrison said following the release of the facility’s usage numbers for 2023.

While numbers have not returned to pre-pandemic levels, Arrison said he is pleased with where things are so far.

“We’re pleased with it,” he said. “Our revenues are way up, which is good. It’s a very good thing.”

In 2023, the convention center hosted 246 events for a total of 537 “event days,” a more than 10% increase from 2022, which saw 223 events and 478 event days.

“If you have an event, say the Arkansas Bar Association, in for four days, it would count as one event for the month but be four event days,” Arrison said. “If we had a graduation that just used the space for one day, it would be one event and just one event day.”

The convention center has had a consistent increase in events since 2020’s low of 97 (194 event days), which was more than a 65% decrease from 2019 due to the cancellation of all events from March 12 through mid-July. There was a 56.7% increase in the number of events (152) in 2021 and a 53.6% increase in event days (298), but 2022 saw the largest single increase in event days (180) to 478, a jump of 60.4%, while adding 71 events, a 45.7% increase.

There were 298 events in 2018, the highest tally since 2015, but that year was third in event days with 2016 (665) and 2015 (618) leading the statistic category.

From 2015 to 2019, attendance at events was well over 350,000, maxing out in 2019 with 449,918 people in attendance.