New Destination Sports Venue For Lake Of The Ozarks? City Of Osage Beach Is Considering It

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. — Should the City of Osage Beach build a sports venue?

On Thursday, Oct 16, Osage Beach Aldermen will vote on whether to hire a consulting firm to help them answer that question.

The city’s 2025 budget had allocated $55,000 for a sports venue feasibility study, and after receiving eight bids, the city is considering contracting Victus Advisers LLC for the study. Victus’ original bid came in at $65,000, but the city negotiated that down to $58,000.

In notes from the city’s Marketing and Development Director Eric Hundelt, he explained he was recommending Victus because of its strong track record in the Midwest, financially disciplined models, and its objectivity — Victus being the only firm from the eight bidders that only provides consulting services and does not also design, build, or operate such facilities.

In an interview on Friday, Mayor Michael Harmison also pointed out Victus’ phased approach. The city would spend $30,000 on a Phase 1 process that would make a recommendation including financial models; then, if the city opted to proceed, it could execute Phase 2, where a site would be selected and final recommendations would be made.

He noted that if the firm ends up determining a sports venue is not a good fit for the city, the answer would likely be more like “not yet” or “here’s what you need in order to get there.”

The City has been considering a sports venue for awhile. “When we looked at our economic development plan… we thought that a sports venue could be one of those things that we would want to lean into,” Hundelt said. In the packet of information for the Board of Aldermen, he noted the two goals of such a venue would be to reduce dependency on summer-only tourism and grow Osage Beach’s role as a regional hub for commerce, culture, and events.

Victus’ Phase 1 report is expected to be delivered by February 2026.