Missouri Market Rising: Springfield Enters CMR Charts

The Springfield name may have entered the pop culture lexicon for Gen Xers and millennials in the early ’90s thanks to a little animated sitcom titled “The Simpsons,” but it’s long been a star in the Midwest as the birthplace of Route 66 and a destination for Civil War historians.

The verdant region, however, has seen some changes that have propelled Springfield into Pollstar’s Concert Market Rankings. It debuted on the list of 100 markets at No. 90 with venues in the area reporting a gross of $8,751,091 off 138,614 tickets sold in the past year, an impressive showing considering that only 40 headline reports were submitted to Pollstar Boxoffice.

That kind of growth in a market like Springfield not only came from the usual spots like Great Southern Bank Arena (where comedian Nate Bargatze had a haul of $775,594) and Ozarks Amphitheater (where Koe Wetzel grossed $455,983) but also from a venue that opened in late May. In just a matter of months, Thunder Ridge Nature Arena, a scenic 18,000-cap amphitheater built by Bass Pro Shops founder and CEO Johnny Morris, vaulted Southwestern Missouri to a position that is comparable to Memphis and the central California region that includes Santa Barbara, Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo.

The new amphitheater is located just an hour south of Springfield in Ridgedale and is operated by ASM Global, which also forged a partnership with Live Nation to help bring in touring acts like The Rolling Stones and Mexican music stars Fuerza Regida.

“The partnership with Live Nation has been incredibly key to navigating these waters in the middle of the Ozarks,” Jason Rio, senior vice president of live entertainment and content development at ASM Global, tells Pollstar. “Bob Roux, Anthony Nicolaidis and Amy Corbin along with Johnny [Morris] and Debbie Bennett [of Bass Pro Shops], that group right there is a big reason why 2024 was what it was and why 2025 is going to be better. There’s a long game here, and it’s such a unique place.”

Rio adds that the tea leaves were there for Morris, ASM Global and Live Nation to plant a flag in the area with the growing demand for outdoor shows in tertiary markets. But to draw acts like Chris Stapleton, whose sold-out show grossed $1.64 million, Thunder Ridge had to not only be a destination for music fans but for artists as well where one could make the trip a mini vacation.

“ASM works with a lot of secondary and tertiary markets … but these markets that are in between the majors, they’re showing that they can punch above their weight,” Rio says. “The business is there, and now it was just a matter of building something where when artists visit, they can stay at the lodge, they can go hunting, they can go fishing, they can water ski,” Rio said. “There are so many things to do for the artist; it’s not just come park in the lot, play the show and get in the bus and go. This is something where, if time allowed, you could bring your family and set up for a couple of days.”

Another reason markets like Springfield are on the rise in live entertainment has to do with the economy. People are leaving major metropolitan areas to live in secondary and tertiary markets in the Midwest because the cost of living is lower, but their appetite for live music doesn’t wane because of a change in scenery. ASM Global is not only working with Live Nation but with other promoters like AEG Presents, Mammoth and Outback Presents to keep fans satiated.

“You might have to travel a little further to see the show, but what we found across our portfolio is that if the artist can find the time — it may not be the first leg or second leg but maybe the third leg of a tour — they go to the Springfields and Pennsylvania’s,” Rio says. “You have a fanbase that can support a healthy average ticket price.”
With Thunder Ridge already having Riley Green, Post Malone, Creed and Styx on the calendar for next year (and more to come), Springfield will likely keep moving on up, living up to its moniker of the Queen City of the Ozarks.