St. Louis, MO/IL ranked first in the top 25 markets with year-over-year (YOY) meeting and events growth at 125.8%, according to December monthly data findings released by Knowland by Cendyn. Nashville came in second with growth at 28%. However, the bigger story is Louisville, KY, which led in secondary markets with 135.6% YOY growth and topped the secondary market list for the eighth time in 2024.

No single event explained the large growth numbers for St. Louis. The top four accounts—HavenHouse, Arcadian Infracom, Crisis Prevention Institute and the Train Shed—accounted for almost 9% of the total, with nearly 11% of events from SMERF instead of corporate accounts. St. Louis averaged 2,112 total sq. ft. with an estimated group size of 97. The total sq. ft. used for the top 25 markets was 3,045, with an estimated group size of 121.

• St. Louis, MO/IL (125.8%) – Charity/nonprofit/social services, wedding, healthcare, social – sports and construction
• Nashville, Tenn. (28%) – Healthcare, technology, manufacturing, consulting and financial/banking
• Atlanta (26.9%) – Education, charity/nonprofit/social services, healthcare, technology and wedding
• Anaheim-Santa Ana, CA (21.4%) – Technology, education, manufacturing, healthcare and legal
• Denver (16.8%) – Technology, charity/nonprofit/social services, consulting, healthcare and education

Top five secondary markets by YOY growth in event volume

Louisville, KY , hosted the Women’s Final Four College Volleyball tournament, setting attendance records and was primarily responsible for the increase in events. Louisville topped the secondary market for the eighth time in 2024, experiencing 135.6% growth and averaging 4,700 sq. ft. and an estimated group size of 154. Secondary markets saw a slight increase over the top 25 markets, with total sq. ft. used at 3,052 and an estimated group size of 122. The five high-growth secondary markets and top industries were:

• Louisville, KY/IN (135.6%) – National association, education, food/beverage, state association and manufacturing
• Wisconsin South (67.6%) – State association, automotive, social – sports, wedding and manufacturing
• Savannah (54.6%) – Manufacturing, healthcare, charity/nonprofit/social services, national association and technology
• Long Island, NY (47.5%) – Training/education, religious, wedding, healthcare, and manufacturing
• Jacksonville, FL (42.4%) – Wedding, charity/nonprofit/social services, national association, consulting and education

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