MILWAUKEE — As you know, Milwaukee has been a city under construction for many years.
One of its latest evolutions is our Baird Center. I met with the President and CEO of the Wisconsin Center District, Marty Brooks to get a sneak peek and share with you this amazing new addition to our downtown landscape.
Through the years, we have known it by many names; the Midwest Express Center in 1998, in 2002, the Midwest Airlines Center, the Frontier Airlines Center in 2010, in 2012, the Delta Center, the Wisconsin Center in 2013, and now Baird Center.
Throughout its iterations, it has been the main convention hall for downtown Milwaukee, but Baird Center offers serious competition for conventions across the Midwest.
“We were losing as much business as we were able to book with the existing Convention Center. By adding another ballroom, doubling the number of meeting rooms that we had, adding another exhibition hall, it enables us to get two events that are occurring simultaneously and also overlapping so that while one event is loading out, another event can load in”, said Marty.
And how does this impact the economy? Marty says, “The city benefits, as does the county, as does the state, because people are coming in spending more money. But it's not just prospectively that the city is benefiting, during the construction process,47.8%, which means $47.8 million went to residents of the City of Milwaukee working on this project. We like to say, it's built for Milwaukee by Milwaukee.”
As I walked through the space, the words that came to mind were thoughtful, beautiful, and cohesive.
From the 30,000 sq ft Ball Room, dividable into 7 smaller rooms, with its waved ceiling and undulating lights to the water feature on the main level, symbolic of our 5 great lakes. There are two sensory rooms for anyone who's on sensory overload.
When overstimulated, these rooms have components that allow someone to come in, feel comfortable, and get composed. And even the restrooms. The Men’s restroom has a wall that can conceal the urinals should an event call for more Ladies' restrooms. It’s awesome; no details were overlooked.
But, don’t take my word, check it out for yourself. The grand opening of the Baird Convention and Exhibition Center is May 18.
For more information, click here.
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