CLUBS AND EXHIBITORS

Enthusiasts in the Greater St. Louis area are invited to attend open practice sessions in agility, obedience, rally, and conformation. These events are held in the Purina Event Center on select days throughout the year with all funds collected benefiting local animal welfare groups.
Click for more information.

For more than 80 years, Purina has been a leader in pet care and nutrition. As part of our mission to show the world the true potential of pets, Purina has been hosting outdoor dog shows and sporting events for the past 16 years and has become an important partner of kennel and parent breed clubs. With the opening of the Purina Event Center, Purina Farms has become a full-service destination for cat and dog enthusiasts who want to host, participate in or attend an indoor or outdoor show.

The Purina Event Center, an 84,000-square-foot state-of-the-art indoor facility that opened in August 2010, can accommodate even the largest of dog and cat shows and performance events, and includes all the amenities to make every event exceptional.

• The Great Hall is a 45,000-square-foot main exhibition space featuring custom-textured sport flooring that is padded for optimal comfort and safety. Space for 150 overflow grooming stations is available in the hall.
• The Gateway Hall is a 13,500-square-foot space for benching and grooming, and features easy access to the dog bathing room and handler changing rooms. It also serves as an excellent exhibition hall for smaller shows and trials. Ample electricity accommodates more than 150 grooming stations.
• Lighting in both exhibition spaces is designed to approximate natural sunlight, helping provide the best showcase for dogs’ and cats’ coats.
• The fully equipped show office has a built-in sound system, as well as a phone, office equipment and both work and storage space.
• The Checkerboard Café, adjacent to the Great Hall, provides food service at all shows and banquet catering by reservation. No outside food is allowed on the property.
• The Founder's Room on the second level offers an excellent view of all activities taking place below and can accommodate banquets, meetings and special receptions. The balcony off the Founder's Room also offers scenic views of the main exhibition space, and is ideal for recording shows.
• A large conference room is located away from the exhibition halls on the second floor, as well.
• The Service Center, located behind the Purina Event Center, features an exam room, meeting space, showering facilities, dog bathing tubs and an off-leash canine exercise area adjacent to the building.
• The Event Center offers complimentary agility and obedience equipment, ring gating and tables and seating for 200.
• Artificial turf (90 x 110 rings) is available upon request for indoor agility trials.
• We provide ample parking for vehicles, as well as full-service RV spaces with 50 amp electric, water and sewer connections.
• There are multiple drop-off lanes for exhibitors and clubs to load and unload supplies and equipment.
• A separate loading dock is located on the west side of the building for large deliveries.
• Two special tribute walkways, the Walk of Champions and the Path of Honor, lead to the north and south entrances of the building.

For more information or to book an event, contact Kaite Flamm, Purina Event Center Manager at 1-888-688-PETS (7387) or email her at kaite.flamm@purina.nestle.com. Aside from dog shows, the Purina Event Center also hosts other events. Commercial rates are available on request.

Download the Purina Farms Event Packet for more information including

• Layouts of the Event Center, Service Center and RV parking lot
• Full amenities list
• Emergency plans
• Property rules
• Local dog-friendly lodging list
• Property map
• Other offerings

Equipment

• Tents ranging in size from 10' x 10' to 40' x 80' are available on-site and can be used for shows, judging, grooming, food service and many other tasks.
• Other support equipment available includes flagging, portable sound systems, tables, chairs, fans, ring gating and signs.
• Portable toilet facilities can be brought to the site (at host club's expense).

"Purina Farms has always been super. Brock Fitzgerald, Director of Purina Farms, and his staff have been so accommodating, helping us put on the best shows possible. Now they've taken it to an incredible new level with the Purina Event Center. I don't know of any other indoor space in the country set up just for dog shows, and I know the Event Center will be the premier dog show facility in the country."

- Cledith "Clete" Wakefield, AKC Delegate, AKC Judge, President, Spirit of the Heartland Kennel Club, and Show Chairman, Jefferson County (Mo.) Kennel Club

"Besides the obvious advantages of plenty of space, good on-site food concession, and the wonderful flooring, the natural lighting seemed to be the most common thread in exhibitors’ likes. Since coat color is an even more important judged attribute with cats than dogs, it is understandable that daylight-type lighting was such a big hit."

- Beth Cassely and Mark McKenzie, Co-Show Managers for the Midwest T.G.I.F Fanciers Cat Show

"When we chose to hold our 2011 National Bouvier des Flandres Specialty in St. Louis at Purina's new facility, we had high expectations. We were holding all of our events there...herding, agility, obedience, rally, conformation and our Top 20. The staff and the Center not only met our expectations but also exceeded them. As a result, with a unanimous vote of our membership, we will be returning in 2014."

- Lee Calhoun, Show Chairman, 2011