Construction crews are putting the finishing touches on the Baird Center‘s $456 million expansion in downtown Milwaukee to get the space primed for its grand opening later this week.
The expansion will double the size of the convention center and is expected to increase business by 30% to 50%. Discussed for many years, the project broke ground in 2021.
Media was invited to tour the space Monday ahead of opening festivities later this week, including a ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening gala on Thursday and a public open house on Saturday.
A recent BizTimes Milwaukee cover story closely examines the Baird Center expansion and what challenges it will face in trying to live up to expectations.
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- The lobby of the expanded Baird Center includes a set of stadium stairs and a sculpture hanging from the ceiling.
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- A wax figure named Rosie that greets guests.
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- A two-story water feature in the lobby. The five water panels represent the five Great Lakes.
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- A hallway lined with meeting rooms on the first floor.
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- Pre-function space on the first floor.
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- Meeting rooms on the second floor.
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- The Baird Center expansion lobby looking from the second floor.
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- A mural depicting scenes from Milwaukee and Wisconsin lines one of the main staircases in the expanded Baird Center.
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- The expanded exhibit space has windows, which is not found in many older convention centers.
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- The expanded exhibit space nearly doubles the Baird Center’s exhibit space to 300,000 square feet.
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- A light fixture outside the Baird Ballroom.
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- A landscaped terrace with city views is available to guests using the top floor ballroom.
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- The ballroom ceiling features custom lighting.
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- The ballroom is currently being set up for the grand opening gala on May 16.
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- The expanded ballroom nearly doubles the size of the Baird Center’s ballroom space.
