Tourist Venues Anchors for Downtown St. Cloud Foot Traffic

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- We told you earlier that when the Great River Children's Museum opens in downtown St. Cloud it is anticipating annual attendance to be around 130,000.

That will give the downtown four large venues that draw people to the area.

Visit Greater St. Cloud Executive Director Rachel Thompson says the River's Edge Convention Center had over 125,000 people walk through its doors in 2024, based on the forecasted event attendance.

The Paramount Center For the Arts Executive Director Gretchen Boulka says they have over 80,000 visitors annually. Visitors to the Paramount have an economic impact of over $2 million to local businesses, above and beyond the Paramount's revenue.

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The St. Cloud Public Library is another venue that brings a lot of people to the downtown.  Great River Regional Library Communications and Development Coordinator Breanne Fruth says they estimated over 407,000 visitors to the St. Cloud Public Library last year.

Two other smaller stages the Gnarly Bard Theater and Pioneer Place on Fifth Theater also attract audiences regularly.  The Harvester Square Wedding and Event Center is also a newer venue on the east end of downtown that draws people to the area.

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