Milwaukee's Baird Center holds grand opening after $456 million renovation: 'It is momentous'

The Baird Center's fancy $456 million renovation and expansion was shown off to an impressed public on Saturday.

An ample crowd milled about the center as it was open to the public for the first time since its renovations completed in late March. From a sprawling fourth-floor, 30,000-square-foot ballroom to a new outdoors area for viewing the skyline, called the Baird Sky View Terrace, the facility is poised for a summer filled with events, none bigger than the Republican National Convention in mid-July.

"Today's a great day. It is momentous in that all the work that we've done for the past four years to open up this project, it's the first time the general public is coming in," said Marty Brooks, president and chief executive officer of the Wisconsin Center District, the public agency that operates the convention center at 400 W. Wisconsin Ave.

The renovation adds on a 112,000-square-feet exhibition space, bringing total convention space to 300,000 square feet. In all, the Baird now totals 1.3 million square feet, according to a fact sheet. Beyond the new space, there's now additional meetings rooms, increased parking, and added inclusive features like all-gender restrooms and nursing mother's rooms.

The expansion comes on the precipice of an important summer for the city's image, as the Republican National Convention runs July 15-18, and the center will play host to national and international news outlets. The center will also be the host of "hospitality functions" during the convention, Brooks previously told the Journal Sentinel.

On Saturday, he touted the center's expansion and renovation as a key part of its ability to host the RNC and other events.

"It's allowing us by doubling our footprint and basically doubling all of the things we had beforehand," Brooks said. "It'll give a much greater economic impact to Milwaukee."

The renovations also offer a big perk for the convention's offerings. Now it can host two different events simultaneously, like this upcoming week when several events will occur concurrently.

At the event, members of the public milled through the various floors. Many stopped to take photos of the various works of art on display or took the climb to the top floor to see the views from the new terrace.

Some who went to the opening said they believed it would be a boon for the city. Others like Carla Isabell and her daughter Cimone Isabell said they came to check out the art. Carla said they came away impressed.

"It's beautiful," she said.

One attendee, Jacquie Lynne, said she came to see the art and architecture — and see "why" the renovation was desired.

"They talked about it so much," she said. "I wondered 'why?' ... now I understand."

In the past, Lynne said she had friends and family leave the city due to a perception that Milwaukee lacked what other cities offer. After seeing the improved Baird, she thought that was no longer true.

"We might be ahead of some cities," she said.

The Baird's renovation began roughly in 2019. That's when the Wisconsin Legislature voted to say they had a "moral obligation" to back up project bonds. In late Oct. 2021, the construction groundbreaking took place and the work was considered "substantially completed" on March 29.

A Baird Center fact sheet detailed some of the work done it took to complete the renovation, including 2,359 workers on-site and 1.4 million hours of work done.

Kyle Smith and Erin Hutchins, who live in downtown Milwaukee, said they went to the grand opening to see "what it was all about" after reading about it in local media.

They favorably compared it to the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago.

"It's impressive," Hutchins said. "We're not used to seeing this in Milwaukee."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Baird Center opens $456 million renovation, expansion to the public