A new study commissioned by the Wisconsin Center District concludes that downtown Milwaukee needs a large convention headquarters hotel to remain competitive with other cities in attracting conventions and identifies the Miller High Life Theatre site as the most viable location for such a project.

The 116-page report, prepared by Chicago consulting firm Hunden Partners, argues that Milwaukee’s $456 million expansion of the Baird Center, completed in 2024, has left the city with abundant meeting space but too few nearby hotel rooms, particularly in the upscale and luxury categories.

The WCD board is scheduled to discuss the findings at its meeting tomorrow morning.

According to the analysis, Milwaukee is losing convention business because it cannot accommodate large events with a concentrated block of hotel rooms close to the convention center.

Hunden estimates the city will forfeit at least 330,000 hotel room nights annually between 2024 and 2027, with roughly 18% of that loss tied directly to insufficient hotel supply. Compared with peer convention markets, Milwaukee is hundreds of rooms short both in large headquarters hotels and in walkable proximity to the Baird Center.

“Milwaukee is now meeting space heavy, hotel room light and behind on hotel quality,” the report states, noting that event planners often must contract with nearly 30 hotels to house attendees, which is more than in competing cities.

Hunden evaluated six potential downtown sites for a new convention center headquarters hotel: the office building at 310 W. Wisconsin Ave., the city-owned parking lot at Wisconsin Avenue and Vel R. Phillips Avenue, the Wisconsin State office building at 801 N. 6th St., the state-owned parking lot at 623 W. State St., the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and the Miller High Life Theatre.

The theater and arena tied for the highest score for a convention headquarters hotel site based on proximity to the convention center, ability to support a mixed-use development and overall construction feasibility. Both venues are owned by the WCD. The city-owned parking lot on Wisconsin Avenue ranked third.

Ultimately, the study recommends replacing the theater rather than the arena, describing the arena as a key district asset and pointing to the theater’s lower bookings and weaker “community attachment.”

The Panther Arena is used by the Milwaukee Admirals hockey team, UW-Milwaukee men’s basketball team and the Milwaukee Wave soccer team. The Admirals and UWM have both already been outspoken in opposition to demolishing the arena, saying there were no alternative places for the teams to host home games.

Hunden suggests a mixed-use phased development on the Miller High Life Theatre site, which would include a hotel. The proposed first phase of the development would include a high-rise hotel with at least 650 guest rooms, 62,000 square feet of meeting space, roughly 30,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, and 15,000 square feet of activated public plaza or green space. A second phase would add about 150 apartments and additional retail.

Conceptual renderings by architecture firm tvsdesign show the hotel connected to the Baird Center via a skywalk over West Kilbourn Avenue.

Currently, Milwaukee’s two primary convention hotels are the Hilton Milwaukee at 509 W. Wisconsin Ave. with 554 rooms (with a recently-opened hotel The Marc hotel with 175 rooms) and the Hyatt Regency at 333 W. Kilbourn Ave. with 481 rooms.

Bringing such a project to fruition, however, could prove to be challenging and complicated.

In December, the Common Council designated both the theater and the arena as historic buildings, a move requested by Ald. Robert Bauman, who also serves on the Wisconsin Center District board. Local historic designation does not prohibit demolition, but would require city approval to do so.

Further, large hotel projects often carry high price tags. A 1,400-room dual-hotel complex in Indianapolis is expected to cost $550 million and is being supported by public financing from the City of Indianapolis— something the City of Milwaukee has been reluctant to do for hotels.

The report also details the financial challenges of maintaining the existing venues. The theater, originally built in 1909 as the Milwaukee Auditorium, is projected to need $18.5 million in capital improvements through 2044, while the arena would require more than $54 million.

In addition, approximately $20 million in debt remains from the theater’s 2003 renovation.

Hunden’s analysis suggests that a convention headquarters hotel would help the city attract more conventions and other events boosting occupancy and revenue not only for the new hotel but for other hotels throughout downtown, primarily on weeknights. Downtown Milwaukee’s hotel industry has not recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic with low occupancy, bankruptcy and foreclosures plaguing the industry.

The report does not address financing or ownership structures for the project.

“A new headquarters hotel is essential to maximize the investment in Baird Center, secure future business at risk of leaving Milwaukee, and remain competitive with other cities making significant convention district investments,” the study concludes.