La Crosse Center to pursue naming rights to add to $49 million renovation

La Crosse’s convention center is looking for a little more money to pay for its renovation project.

The project, now up to $49 million, that could expand the La Crosse Center into Riverside Park, is, apparently, not enough.

Naming rights could bridge the gap. The La Crosse Center board is backing the idea of finding sponsors to put their names on different spaces within the building, including three new ballrooms that are included in construction plans.

Putting a corporate name on the entire building would be the last resort, but center manager Art Fahey says even if that happens, ‘La Crosse’ would still have to be part of the official name for the civic center.

The board hopes to raise around an extra $5 million.

Center board president Brent Smith says Eau Claire’s civic center just made a $5-million deal to have the building named the ‘Pablo Center,’ after a philanthropic group.

The board is also trying to negotiate with the MOSES farming conference for 2019. Bringing it back is not a done deal.

La Crosse Center management will meet with MOSES reps in April, to assure the group that the same amount of exhibition space will be available, even if the La Crosse Center is going through construction at that time.

The MOSES meeting is one of the biggest single events every year for the civic center with an economic impact of about $2 million for the city of La Crosse.