CONVENTION TIP of the DAY - Thursday, June 5, 2025 - PARKING, Downtown Road CONSTRUCTION,  Handicap Parking, Teachers’ Shuttle Information

READ and RETAIN friends, this is an IMPORTANT ONE for anyone driving and parking!

Great News!!  Carpenter Street & Clear Lake Avenue (Both Go West) are OPEN!!  Clear Lake Avenue is the closest to the BOS Center.

BOS Convention Center Parking Garage - How to Pay Instructions - If the gates are up when you arrive, please print a ticket because if they are down when you go to leave, you’ll have to pay $25 for a lost ticket.

ROAD CONSTRUCTION - AT THIS TIME, SPRINGFIELD HAS A LOT OF ROAD CLOSURES AND ROAD CONSTRUCTION THROUGHOUT THE CITY. PLEASE ALLOW PLENTY OF TIME TO AND FROM THE BOS CENTER.  PLEASE FOLLOW DETOUR SIGNS FOR ROAD CLOSURES. 

Bus Parking Passes Must Be Placed In Your Window

****NEW THIS YEAR - MINIBUS STREET PARKING IS ASSIGNED BY STREET THIS YEAR - WE HAVE EMAILED ALL OF THE CHAPTERS THAT RECEIVED STREET PARKING ON JUNE 5TH.

LARGE BUS PARKING & MINIBUSES ARE IN LOT #24

We also have the Horace Mann Lot - Special Horace Mann Parking Permit must have been emailed to you to park in that lot.

We still have some available parking on the Street.

WE ARE NOT ANNOUNCING THE COLOR OF THE METER BAGS BECAUSE OF THE ASSIGNED PARKING.  YOU WILL BE TOWED IF PARKED AT RED-BAGGED METERS OR NOT BAGGED FOR IL FFA. 

Paid Parking Passes are REQUIRED to park on the street AND in Lot #24 & the Horace Mann Parking Lot.  For questions, please contact Patti Davis at pdavis@illinoisffa.org or (217) 753-3328 Ext. 107.

• Mini Bus, Cargo Van, or Oversized Truck (Taller than 6 ft. 7 inches) requires a Paid Parking Pass.  

• Special Blue Bagged Meters with FFA or IAVAT Emblem - We will have blue bagged meters & sandwich boards on meters closest to the BOS Center for the Top 10 Chapters & the IAVAT Winning Chapter. These are located on 800 E Washington Street between 8th and 9th Streets.

• Full-Size Buses - You MUST park in Lot #24, 4th Street (One-Way Street-Runs North), 5th Street (One-Way-Runs South) & Madison Street (One-Way-Runs East).  Note:  Other vehicles will be parking in this lot, so please park your bus so that others can park around you.  Note:  Please be aware of your surroundings and walk in pairs to and from Lot #24.  Do not park in parking lots not authorized for our event.  Please lock your vehicles everywhere!

• Cars, Vans, and Regular-Sized Trucks - Please use the Parking Garages, which are available downtown.   The closest parking garages to the BOS Center are the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel/BOS Center Parking Garage off of 7th Street (One-Way Runs South), Washington Street (one-way runs East), or the Wyndham Hotel Entrance on Monroe Street (One-Way Runs East). The height requirement for most of the parking garages is 6 ft. 7 inches.  Downtown Parking Information.  Wyndham Parking Garage - The garage is open, but there is no one available to assist if issues arise.

  • ATTN:  GUESTS:  BOS Convention Center Parking Garage  - How to Pay Instructions  If the gates are up when you arrive, please print a ticket because if they are down when you go to leave, you’ll have to pay $25 for a lost ticket. 

  • The only vehicles allowed to park at the meters are the minibusses and oversized vehicles.  If cars park at the meters, they will get tickets!!

Shuttle Drivers can also be contacted via this phone number:   217-720-8363  

• ADVISORS - Please share the parking garage information with parents and families who will be attending.  

• Handicap Parking - Handicap parking is located in the BOS Center & Wyndham Parking Garages. Other parking garages in the downtown area have handicap parking.  

• Shuttle Service - Meet at the Statehouse Inn Parking Lot (Picture) - This shuttle service is for schools parked near the State House Inn (100-300 East & West Washington Streets, and 400 & 500 South 6th Street).

We will provide a shuttle service for Teachers Only for pickup and drop off at the State House Inn Parking Lot - Look for an IL FFA Center Fleet Vehicle, possibly wrapped with a sponsor’s logo:

• Pick-Up 30 Minutes Before the Session

• Pick-Up 15 Minutes Before the Session

• After Session - Meet in the lobby for 10 Minutes after Session - Meet in the BOS Center Lobby at the Registration Booth.