Fox Cities Exhibition Center in Appleton, connected to Hilton Paper Valley. Dec. 30, 2025. PC: Fox 11 Online
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The Hilton Paper Valley Hotel is expected to continue managing the Fox Cities Exhibition Center after its contract expires Wednesday, while talks for a long-term deal proceed.
The hotel has operated the exhibition center since it opened in 2018. The city and hotel have been negotiating for months on a new management deal. The hotel first notified Appleton of its plan to withdraw from the agreement this past spring, and the two sides first officially met in October.
With the contract expiring Dec. 31, the city and hotel say a temporary deal is expected to be signed.
“We are currently obtaining signatures on a mutually agreed upon extension to the existing agreement,” wrote Linda Garvey, director of business development and community affairs for the hotel.
“While we have not yet received a fully executed extension agreement document from the Hilton Paper Valley, we expect to receive it shortly. There is not a new agreement in place as of now, only a pending extension of the existing agreement until April 2026, and negotiations are ongoing,” Appleton Mayor Jake Woodford said Tuesday morning.
The Appleton Redevelopment Authority owns the building, but the hotel pays for operational expenses and would cover future capital expenses — things like building renovations and new furnishings. The hotel says it can absorb the cost to operate, but that a fund should be created to help with capital expenses.
“What we’d like them to do is create that fund, but who can contribute to that fund is a bigger question,” said Garvey.
If the city of Appleton creates a fund, the money has to be raised through taxes somehow — whether through lodging taxes or otherwise. The hotel spends about $380,000 per year to operate the hotel, incurring a loss of about $180,000 annually, according to Hilton Paper Valley. But it’s a loss leader, since it attracts people to stay in the hotel.
The center was originally paid through bonds being repaid through a lodging tax that impacts 10 Fox Valley municipalities.
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