Incoming Center District CEO waiting to decide about convention center expansion

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The new chief executive of the Wisconsin Center District says he would love to have a hand in expanding downtown Milwaukee’s convention center, though he’s not ready to say for certain the project is needed.

Martin Brooks will officially move into the CEO position on Monday, taking over for Russ Staerkel, who is retiring. The organization Brooks will lead owns and operates the Wisconsin Center and other nearby entertainment venues.

Just before a meeting on Friday that saw Brooks introduce himself to members of the district’s board of directors, he took some time to talk about the possibility of expanding the convention center. A recent study conducted by the consulting firm Crossroads Consulting Services recommended adding between 110,000 and 160,000 square feet of exhibit space; 30,000 and 35,000 square feet of meeting space and 15,000 and 20,000 square feet of ballroom space.

Many local officials have come out in favor of the proposed expansion, which is estimated to cost $107.5 million. Brooks, though, said he is holding off judgement until he has had more time to study the details. He said he did not condition his acceptance of the CEO job on an understanding that an expansion would eventually happen.

“It certainly is interesting and will be an exciting project if it happens,” Brooks said. “It wasn’t a must-have; there’d be no assurances made to me that it’s going to happen, so it wasn’t a condition of, ‘I want to have an expansion.’ ”

Brooks said that he has not had time yet to discuss the expansion recommendations in detail with anyone on the center district board. He also said he hasn’t got enough information to say whether the convention center could continue to be successful at its current size.

Consultants have said an expansion is needed to ensure Milwaukee can compete for years into the future with similarly sized cities like Indianapolis, Minneapolis and Columbus.

Speaking generally, Brooks said convention centers have trouble staying at the head of the pack if they aren’t equipped with the latest technology and don’t offer space that can be used for a variety of purposes, among other things.

“It’s just as the demands of meeting planners and events have evolved over the years, facilities have to make sure that they’re reacting to that otherwise they’re not competitive,” he said.

Separate from the convention center, the Wisconsin Center District  has a direct interest in the success of the new Bucks arena that is going up nearby. The district owns the new $524 million arena and has signed a 30-year lease allowing the NBA team to use it as a venue for home games and other events.

Brooks said his hope is that the Bucks arena and related developments – various hotels, restaurants and bars now in the works – will draw people downtown all year round.

“The success of the new Bucks arena is critical for the region as an entertainment district, not just (on) event nights,” he said. “The hotels, the restaurants, the bars need critical mass all the time, not just on the night of a Bucks game.”

Work on the arena is scheduled to wrap up this summer.

Brooks comes to Milwaukee from St. Louis, where he had led an organization called America’s Center since 2012. American’s Center oversees St. Louis’s Edward Jones Dome, Ferrara Theatre and Executive Conference Center.

Before taking that job, he had been the general manager of two other St. Louis venues: the Scottrade Center and Peabody Opera House. Brooks also worked for Madison Square Garden for 10 years, where he ran the Hartford Civic Center and other venues in Connecticut. Follow @alexzank