MILWAUKEE – The Baird Center is now officially ‘open for business.’
“It’s been a labor of love,” Wisconsin Center District president and CEO Marty Brooks said during a ceremonial ribbon cutting on Thursday morning. The large crowd included Mayor Cavalier Johnson, County Executive David Crowley and several council members.
Its official. The Baird Center extension is now open. pic.twitter.com/KDCj2jEDwH
— Erik Bilstad (@erikbilstadWTMJ) May 16, 2024
“It seems so surreal,” Brooks told WTMJ afterward. “The city has been working on this (convention extension) for decades. For me, it’s been six years. I never thought today was going to come.”
The new space will be used immediately. An opening night gala was planned for Thursday night. Broadway sensation Idina Menzel is the headliner. On Saturday, the facility will be open to the public for tours. Then the conventions will begin to take over the space.
“Our intention is to do multiple events at the same time,” Visit Milwaukee’s Peggy Williams-Smith explained. “We can stack conventions and keep our hotels busy.”
On Thursday night, when Menzel is singing to the crowd, Brooks will soak it in.
“It’ll be the culmination of a great run,” he said with a smile.
Big crowd for the official ribbon cutting of the new Baird Center in downtown Milwaukee. pic.twitter.com/l76Zv2RLTo
— Erik Bilstad (@erikbilstadWTMJ) May 16, 2024
More details on the big celebration on Friday on WTMJ’s Wisconsin’s Morning News.
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