SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The City of Springfield has been in talks with Hotel of Terror owner Sterling Mathis to purchase the land under the Hotel, but since early 2023, no deal has been made.
“We’re still working with the city, trying to come up with a deal. You know, they want the property. They want to build the park, which is fine, you know, But I have to be able to have enough to be able to rebuild it at another location, which is my other building,” said Mathis.
City officials told OzarksFirst the assessed value of the property is around $380,000.
Mathis has gone on the record to ask for more than that, at least $1 million, saying that the extra money would go towards repairs on the building Mathis would move into, as well as breaking down and reassembling the same haunted attraction.
“A haunted house is not like a car lot or anything like that. You can’t just move some desks and go to any building. I mean, the props are built into the building. When you walk through, I mean, it’s swings and bridges, it’s waterfalls, it’s things on the floor that can’t be moved. You’re going to have to recreate all that stuff,” Mathis said. “I’m not trying to make money on this thing. I’m just trying to move it from there to the other location. That’s all I’m trying to do. You know, I’m not trying to get a big lump sum and retire or anything like that. I have promised the people of Springfield that I’m going to keep the Hotel of Terror going and I’m going to keep my word. I’m going to keep the Hotel of Terror going either in this building or in [a new] building.”
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“When we first started the negotiations, everything was perfect, they gave us a line. We met that line, then we agreed to it and then they changed the line. They moved the goalpost on me and they’ve done that a few times. Every time we agreed, we had a contract that everybody was on the same page and then they moved the goalpost again on us. I just want them to be honest of what they say, not talk out of both sides of their mouth. I’m not going to mention anything at this point, but, you know, that time may be coming soon, so we just need to make it work,” Mathis said. “I want to move forward or leave us alone, because a lot of people out there still think that the city has closed us. We’re not closed. We’re open. So we need to either move forward or let it go. I can’t continue to spend money on architects and builders and things like that and not get anything out of it.”
Mathis said a permit is what signaled to him a change.
“We had the fire department there. We had the people there, we had the city attorney there, We had everybody there and everybody was on the same page. When I started work because I was trying to move, when I started work on the property, they turned down the first permit we reached out for. They turned us down. So we went and had another meeting and then things changed completely complete left turn, the goal post was way over there now,” Mathis said.
In 2023, the city began negotiating with Mathis but when a deal wasn’t made, Springfield City Council voted unanimously to invoke eminent domain but then repealed.
“They’ve been trying to play hardball ever since they did the eminent domain, it’s ridiculous, in my opinion, to go that route before they even come down here and look. We went out and got the signatures to put it on the ballot and I’m good with putting it on the ballot, if anybody if they want to do that, that’s fine. If that’s the case, I’ll never leave this location. I’ll stay here forever. I’m not trying to be a jerk or whatever. I’m trying to keep this going for the people of Springfield and the surrounding areas,” Mathis said. “I will say to that is there’s a lot of seasonal businesses that come to town, and the rules for me are way more strict than the rules for them. So that’s some of it that we may talk about later. I’m not going to get into it right now.”
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“I think I should be treated like everybody else in town, not way higher standards for what I do than any other building in the city. They’re expecting me to do things that are impossible and not a building in this city that I know of would be able to do the same. So that’s all I’m asking for, just to be treated like everybody else,” Mathis said. “You know, I’ve been here a long time. I’ve been in this city for 46 years this year. We just want to bring fun to the people and there’s a lot of things that are getting put out of business for silly stuff.”
The City of Springfield believes they have been more than fair.
“We have been discussing the issue of Mr. Mathis’ property for several years now. I think it’s pretty well-known. We have had dozens of meetings with him and several site visits, and our main challenge is that we don’t have any design plans from him even yet,” said Cora Scott, the city’s Director of Public Information and Civic Engagement. “However, that property originally appraised for $380,000 and we are ready to and have a contract drafted in his possession to offer him the $2 million [he has asked]. It’s in his hands right now with that and he has come back with another list of demands in addition to that $2 million. We have asked him to put those demands in writing and we’ll take a look at them.”
The city says the real hang-up is work plans and more demands they say Mathis is making.
“The discussions are still ongoing with him because, like I said, we agreed to the $2 million purchase price for his property. He still has a list of demands above and beyond that, and that includes some things for his new property,” Scott said. “He is requesting that we basically give him guaranteed approval of what he wants to build without having building plans. Unfortunately, we’re not able to do that unless we have specifics, because the responsibility of our BDS department is to ensure the life safety of the public, and so we need to see those plans and know exactly what is going to be included. He’s asking for a cost of an elevator above and beyond the 2 million and additional funds to essentially double the size of the location of the new place.”
(Scott later clarified the total cost would be $2.29 million if the city was to respond to Mathis’ “additional demands”).
Scott doesn’t deny the Hotel of Terror’s place in Springfield culture.
“It’s rated one of the top haunted houses in the state of Missouri. The city very much wants to see him continue this legacy of frightening people during the holiday season, so we’re really trying to work with him and that’s why we’re still in discussions with him about these additional demands that are above and beyond the 2 million. So we’re looking forward to seeing what he comes back with in writing in terms of the additional things that he’s asking for.”
Scott added the whole reason the city wants to buy the property is to extend the Main Avenue bridge.
“Something has to be done about that Main Avenue Bridge because of the safety concerns. It’s load-listed, which means like city busses can’t drive over it, firetrucks, those sorts of things cannot go over the Main Avenue bridge at the current time,” Scott said.
Mathis reached back out to OzarksFirst and said the costs surrounding an elevator stem from building code and requirements. The current Hotel of Terror does not have one.
Mathis reaffirms that from his perspective, the city added those demands.
The Hotel of Terror will be in its current location for this season and Fall 2025.
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