MILWAUKEE- The Wisconsin Center District today unveiling renderings of the planned expansion of the Wisconsin Center.
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The project would effectively double the convention center’s current square footage to roughly 300,000 square footage of exposition hall space. The plans also call for the addition of 24 new meeting rooms and more than 400 new parking spaces.
Supporters of the project say the modernized space would help Milwaukee lure in more conventions by having a larger, more modern convention center. Those less enthusiastic about the project say it comes down to cost.
The project is estimated to come with a price tag of roughly $375-million to $425-million.
A Milwaukee Common Council committee voted 14-1 in favor of the project last month, but Alderman Bob Bauman says the entire council should, at least, consider the cost, before giving its blessing to the project.
“The certification that we made, facts have changed, circumstances have changed, dynamics have changed, dramatically,” Bauman told the Journal Sentinel earlier this week. Bauman also sponsored a resolution that would rescind city support for the time being. Last year Governor Tony Evers approved borrowing up to $300-million for the project.
The Common Council was scheduled to vote on support for the project during their April 2nd meeting, though that vote is now up in the air.