ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ) – Last week, construction crews started tearing down the Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena in Ashwaubenon.
On Wednesday, Brown County officials celebrated a groundbreaking for what will replace the arena, a new expo center.
Local leaders think that new expo center, located in the shadows of Lambeau Field, will help them dip their toes into the business that typically goes elsewhere.
“Well, steal is kind of a harsh word… but, you’re absolutely right,” explains Brad Toll, with the Greater Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Speaking at the event, Ashwaubenon Village President Mary Kardoskee says the conversation about building some sort of multi-purpose exposition center started around twenty years ago.
With that timeline in mind, it was a sweet day for the gathered officials.
“It couldn’t come at a more important time,” explains Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach. “The reality is the communities that figure out how to invest, and do it in a fiscally responsible manner, are the ones that are going to be successful in the future.”
Construction is in the beginning stages for the $93 million facility.
It may seem like a big price tag, but officials would rather look at it as a worthwhile community investment.
“Economically, we’re expecting in addition to what we had before, at least another $13-million,” says Toll. “And that’s on an annual basis.”
Most of the project will be paid for through county room tax revenue.
The design features sprawling windows, which will be able to show off the events taking place inside the 127,000 square feet of flexible expo space.
By comparison, the Arena and the now-demolished Shopko Hall has about 80,000 square feet of expo space.
“The other one had 44,000 square-feet in Shopko Hall and then you had to go down a ramp and around the concession stands,” explains Toll. “It was all disjointed.”
According to him, one of the major attractions they’ll look to draw back into the area is Antiques Roadshow.
A second level includes meeting rooms, office space, and a party deck.
The county hopes to make more revenue from the expo center by selling naming rights to the facility.
Overall, county officials think this move will put them on a plane with other major cities in the Midwest.
“We’re the fourth largest county, third-largest city [in Wisconsin], with an NFL team,” explains Streckenbach. “From that standpoint, why not leverage that, why not take advantage of it.”
