The Wisconsin Center is seeing strong ticket sales for its upcoming exhibit
"Beyond Van Gogh: An Immersive Experience," according to the head of the organization that owns and runs the downtown Milwaukee convention space.
The
Van Gogh exhibit opens July 9 will run through mid-September. It will feature more than 300 of the iconic artist's works.
It has already sold over 47,000 tickets, said Marty Brooks, chief executive officer of the Wisconsin Center District. WCD owns the Wisconsin Center and other downtown event venues.
"We're hopeful that event can be extended, but we're waiting until that gets started before making that commitment," Brooks told members of the WCD Board of Directors this morning.
The strong showing has "opened our eyes to this type of programming" at the convention center, Brooks added.
Beyond Van Gogh was created by French-Canadian creative director Mathieu St-Arnaud and his team at Montreal’s Normal Studio. It toured Europe before coming to North America in recent years.
Brooks had mostly positive things to share with the WCD Board on Friday. The tone of the meetings has shifted of late, after the district's event venues suffered like many others nationwide amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The outbreak gutted the convention business and the hospitality and tourism industry as a whole for months.
He said WCD brought back all of its staffers who had been laid off due to the pandemic. The district's enactment of a $15 an hour minimum wage last summer has helped bring back its part-time event staff, Brooks added.
Interest from event organizers has also picked up.
"We are very encouraged about the activity we are seeing for events," Brooks said, citing the city's easing capacity restrictions as a factor. "We've seen a lot more incoming calls and a lot more receptiveness to our outbound calls from people contemplating events not only for 2022 and beyond, but also to pick up business in the third and fourth quarters of this year."
As of June 1, the Wisconsin Center and other venues will be able to reach 100% capacity.
The UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, another WCD-owned facility, will also benefit from Patrick Baldwin Jr.'s decision to play basketball for the university next year.
UWM said recently it
expects a 70% boost in season ticket sales thanks to Baldwin Jr. He turned down other opportunities to play for his father and head coach, Patrick Baldwin Sr.
"We do expect to see an increase in event attendees for their fall and winter schedule," Brooks said. "What's just so incredible, (Baldwin Jr.) was thought to be going to either Duke or Georgetown. The fact he stayed in Milwaukee is phenomenal."
