Baird Center prepares for grand opening of expanded event space

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- This week, workers at the Baird Center are putting their final touches on the downtown event space.

After nearly five years of planning and construction, officials are almost ready to host events. 

The new expansion doubles the size of the convention center, totaling 1.3 million square feet. Four hundred parking spaces have been added, along with a new rooftop ballroom, meeting rooms and exhibition spaces. Officials say the expansion should bring in an additional hundred-thousand out-of-state visitors each year. 

"What I'm really looking forward to is seeing this building do what we have always wanted it to do, which of course is to give us a chance at bigger events more frequently," said Sarah Maio, VP of marketing and communications, Wisconsin Center District. "But its real purpose is to allow us to do multiple simultaneous and overlapping events."

The Baird Center will host its ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday. They'll host their grand opening gala at 5:30 that evening.

They'll also host an open house this Saturday, May 18, from 1-5.