The City of Racine announced this week that it will support moving forward with phase one of the development of a hotel and event center in Racine.

The announcement comes after the decision by the Milwaukee Bucks to place their D League team in Oshkosh instead of Racine or Sheboygan.

"This decision reinforces that we are all moving forward in one direction to continue to build downtown Racine. Through this development, Racine will experience a renaissance that will reinforce the pride that we feel to live, work and raise our families here," said Amy Connolly the Director of the City Development Department.

The new downtown complex is expected to add a 130-room hotel with conference and integrated meeting space and a 3,000 to 5,000 seat multi-purpose event center.

The development team has already secured a USHL hockey team as its first tenant.

"We're thrilled to move forward and can't wait to see the positive impact it will have on the City and Racine County. We estimate that the initiative will result in more than 700 full-time jobs, $7 Million in new spending per year, more than $104 Million in net new earnings over 30 years, 50,000 new visitors annually and elevate Racine as a leader in tourism, sports, job creation and economic growth," Connolly added.

Phase one of the project is expected to cost $600,000 and the entire project will cost approximately $49 Million dollars. The project is expected to be complete by the fall of 2019.