Joplin Expo set to open soon at Northpark Mall

JOPLIN, Mo. — To host a convention or trade show, one must have a couple of things.

A large place to hold it - and plenty of parking. Next year - Joplin will be able to do it again.

There hasn't been anything inside the 40,000-square-foot former Macy's men's store in the Northpark Mall for a few years now. But in a matter of months, that will change. It will become the "Joplin Expo."

"I'd like to see us get the Business Expo back here again from the casino. I'd like to see us get a lot of the big shows from the casino back into Joplin bringing revenue back to Joplin," said Jason Williams, owner, Joplin Expo.

Jason Williams is now the owner of that portion of the facility.

He says the goal is to reclaim many of the events that used to take place at the former John Q. Hammons Convention Center, which is now an RV showroom.

"So it will allow us to do trade shows that we have not been able to get for a long time. You know, Joplin has lost millions of dollars in revenue from not having this, so hopefully, it will be a booming place in Joplin again," said Williams.

Williams has a history of bringing buildings in Joplin back to use again.

He turned the Roxy and Amelie buildings into event centers in recent years.

He hopes to have the "Expo" opened in the spring, drawing a wide array of events.

"So it would be traveling road shows, some resale shows like we have Rhea Lana right now that does some stuff with us, and we talked to Two Friends and Junk, and we're trying to get them back again. We've had some interest in possibly doing a ComiCon—a bigger version of a ComiCon than we've ever had before here," said Williams.