City and state officials celebrated the opening of White Lion Brewing Company’s new outdoor space, “PrideLands on Main Street.” The revitalization project in downtown Springfield was funded by a $250,000 ARPA grant.
Reminder Publishing photo by Ryan Feyre
SPRINGFIELD — A $250,000 American Rescue Plan Act grant was recently transmuted into an outdoor event space inside the privately-owned Tower Square Park on Main Street.
Spearheaded and eventually opened by White Lion Brewing Company in early July, the new space initiative is expected to be a “connector” to the surrounding Springfield downtown district, according to White Lion founder Ray Berry.
The space is called “PrideLands on Main Street” in honor of where it resides.
“We’re a bridge builder,” Berry said in an interview. “It’s important for us to have a space like this that creates connectivity to [Springfield’s] business districts; the entertainment district, arts district [and] restaurant row. Folks can use this as a pit stop or starting point and deflect out.”
Berry shared that White Lion used to host a beer garden and a series of special events inside Tower Square Park, before COVID-19 wiped everything out.
When ARPA funding became available to municipalities, the city of Springfield opened a request for proposals that encouraged businesses to activate space for outdoor dining.
White Lion applied and was awarded the ARPA money in 2023, Berry said. According to the city, the business was tasked with reactivating the outdoor space inside Tower Square Park, which is centered in the heart of the downtown business and evolving arts district.
“We spent the year in 2024 making sure we had everything in place to open this up this year,” Berry said.
ARPA was signed into law in March 2021 to provide $350 billion in additional funding to state and local governments as they recover from the pandemic. The money could be used in various ways, such as negative economic impact relief, premium pay for essential workers, investments in water and sewer infrastructure as well as revenue replacement for government services.
The $250,000 White Lion received eventually led to the opening of the outdoor space in early July. Berry said the money covered a food and beverage container, open-air lounge, dedicated music zone, umbrellas, electrical work, creative art work by Common Wealth Murals and a concrete pad.
At a ribbon cutting ceremony on July 30, Sarno said the ARPA money has allowed small businesses — such as White Lion — to survive and thrive in a post-pandemic landscape.
“We’ve been able to help many, many small businesses,” Sarno said. “I think [PrideLands] is going to be a great venue.”
Sarno was joined by other officials at the grand opening celebration, including state Sen. Adam Gomez (D-Springfield), Ward 5 City Councilor Lavar Click-Bruce and Chief Development Officer Tim Sheehan. All commended Berry’s vision for its dedication to downtown economic vitality.
“This is exactly when ‘Pain Street’ is turning back to ‘Main Street,’” Gomez said. “This is an example of, once again, when a vision is sought out and seen.”
According to Berry, the Tower Square Park space will provide special theme nights and events, weekly entertainment on Wednesday and Thursday evenings and a food residency initiative that offers a local food business an opportunity to showcase its offerings.
The outdoor space is open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4:30-9 p.m. until October, Berry said.
