St. Louis County Executive Sam Page has appointed three new members to the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission board, including Kitty Ratcliffe, the former longtime head of Explore St. Louis who was pushed out of the agency in 2024 after board members criticized her handling of a major expansion project. The appointments were made during a June 20 board meeting that was closed to the public, according to the St. Louis County Executive's Office, and they come just days before a new Missouri law takes effect requiring County Council confirmation of such appointments.
As reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Page said the timing of the appointments would let the county sidestep a confirmation fight with the County Council, which under the new state law gains the power to approve or reject the county executive's picks starting Friday. Ratcliffe led Explore St. Louis for 16 years before retiring in August 2024, and her return puts her back on the same board that had criticized her handling of an expansion project that ran up more than $250 million in costs. Page called her appointment an honor, saying it would contribute to the region's economic success, per the same report.
A Contentious Return to the Board
Ratcliffe's exit from Explore St. Louis two years ago was not quiet. Records released after her departure showed she received a severance package including a full year's salary, a bonus, 12 months of health insurance, and title to a taxpayer-funded vehicle, a deal totaling more than $500,000, according to First Alert 4. That payout followed board criticism over convention sales and cost management, and it set the stage for the tension surrounding her reappointment now.
Among those who publicly pushed for Ratcliffe's departure was Steve O'Loughlin, president and COO of Lodging Hospitality Management, who chaired the CVC board and raised concerns about declining convention bookings during a 2024 meeting. Page's new appointments effectively removed O'Loughlin from the board, a move that highlights the internal political rivalries shaping the county executive's picks. Explore St. Louis has since moved on under new leadership, naming Brad Dean, former CEO of Discover Puerto Rico and the Myrtle Beach Area CVB, as its permanent president and CEO in January 2025 following a national search, according to Northstar Meetings Group.
New Law Reshapes Board Oversight
The appointments land just ahead of a broader governance overhaul. Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe signed legislation in April consolidating oversight of the Dome at America's Center and the convention center under a single board, while also mandating County Council confirmation of county executive appointments starting this week. Before the change, governance of the downtown complex was split between the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority, which oversaw the Dome, and the Regional Convention and Visitors Commission, which ran the convention center. The new law expands the combined board to 14 members, with five appointees each from the mayor of St. Louis and the county executive.
Along with Ratcliffe, Page appointed Rochelle Dalton, a Black Jack city councilwoman and former county councilwoman, to fill one of the board's open seats. The new appointees will serve four-year terms and remain on the board until the next county executive takes office. Missouri state law had not previously required County Council approval of the county executive's CVC appointments, which is precisely the window Page moved to fill before it closed.
Part of a Larger Pattern for Page
This is not the first time Page has moved to seat appointees ahead of a confirmation requirement. He has repeatedly installed board members during legislative gaps or ahead of new statutory deadlines, including seating two county police board members earlier this month without council confirmation votes, as Hoodline previously reported. The pattern reflects an ongoing clash between Page and a County Council that has repeatedly challenged his executive authority over board oversight.
The stakes tied to the CVC board extend well beyond the appointments themselves. The tourism and convention industry across St. Louis City and County generates approximately $5.9 billion in annual economic impact, according to Thompson Coburn LLP. The convention center itself recently completed a $240 million expansion known as AC Next Gen, which added 72,000 square feet of exhibit space, reconfigured loading docks, and created 88,000 square feet of outdoor green space, per HVS. That project was financed through $210 million in public bonds split evenly between the city and county, backed by hotel and restaurant taxes.
Explore St. Louis has also been weighing a shift toward privatizing operations of the downtown convention center, seeking private capital and specialized venue management expertise, the Post-Dispatch has reported. The Dome at America's Center, meanwhile, still has a planned second phase of its own and requires additional funding to move forward, underscoring how much is riding on who controls the board making those decisions in the years ahead.
