Business

La Crosse Center ready to ask county and Onalaska for expansion funding

Published

6 years ago

April 18, 2019

Members of the La Crosse Center board try out new models of arena seats which could be installed as part of a $42 million building makeover

In the next few weeks, the city of Onalaska and La Crosse County will be asked to commit funding to the La Crosse Center expansion plan.

Center Board president Brent Smith said funding from those local governments would help reduce the burden on the city of La Crosse to pay for the $42 million renovation.

Last week, the La Crosse city council gave the OK to a compromise design, which will permit the Center to actually expand the North Hall exhibit area beyond its current size of 15,000 square feet.

The arena board had been criticized by one major event promoter for plans to reduce the space in North Hall.

Board members are also looking at new designs for arena seats, to replace the distressed ones that were installed when the building opened in 1980.

Related Topics:La Crosse Center onalaska renovation

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.