Dane County redevelopment team outlines Alliant Energy Center expansion and seeks public‑private partner for Coliseum renovation

Dane County supervisors received an update on long‑range plans for the Alliant Energy Center on the evening the Committee of the Whole met, including a proposed expansion of the Expo Hall and a recommendation to pursue a public‑private partnership to renovate the Coliseum.

The update, delivered by consultant Rob Gottschalk of Vandewalle & Associates and Kevin Scheibler, executive director of the Alliant Energy Center, summarized a master plan developed since 2014, near‑term projects and a multi‑phase timeline. Gottschalk said the plan is grounded in prior market and feasibility work and public input; Scheibler presented specific sizes, cost estimates and projected economic impacts.

Scheibler said the Expo Hall expansion would increase exhibit space from about 100,000 square feet to about 150,000 square feet, expand meeting rooms from 12 to 29, add a significantly larger kitchen and add a ballroom. He described the work in phases, with the project in the design document phase, construction documents next year, a bid in 2027 and phased construction across roughly three years.

Consultants and staff framed the expansion as a way to attract larger, higher‑revenue events that no longer come to the county’s aging venues. Based on analysis by the redevelopment committee’s market…