AEC redevelopment committee presents exhibition‑hall expansion plans, explores Coliseum rehab and public‑private partnerships
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Summary
The Alliant Energy Center redevelopment committee presented its 2025 annual report, outlined schematic and future design schedules for an exhibition hall expansion, and discussed pursuing a public‑private partnership to renovate the Coliseum instead of building a new facility.
The Alliant Energy Center (AEC) Redevelopment Committee presented its annual report to the Dane County Public Works and Transportation Committee on Feb. 25, outlining progress on the exhibition‑hall expansion, longer‑term options for the Coliseum and related site improvements.
Why it matters: The AEC campus hosts major regional events (World Dairy Expo, Midwest Horse Fair); decisions about the exhibition hall and Coliseum shape the county’s event capacity, local tourism revenue and long‑range capital needs.
What the committee reported: Committee members said schematic designs for the exhibition hall expansion were completed late in 2024. The planned next steps are development documents in 2025, construction documents in 2026 and possible construction start in 2027, with phased work intended to keep existing operations running. The committee described a funding package of roughly $3,000,000 split in two parts of $1,500,000 each for planning and stormwater work; additional capital would be required for full construction.
Committee members discussed the alternative of renovating the Coliseum through a public‑private partnership (P3) rather than building a new arena. The idea would be to partner with a private developer to finance and operate some portion of the facility in exchange for certain revenue streams or operational control; the committee asked staff to issue a request for information (RFI) to gauge private interest and to clarify what the county would be willing to trade for private investment.
Committee members also noted the recent transfer/closing of the Clarion hotel and said new owners expect to invest about $14 million to renovate the property; members said the hotel reopening could support AEC meeting space and nearby campus activity.
Quoted: "We got schematics first... the next phase is to do development documents or development documents. That will be worked on in '25, and then the final step is to have construction docs, and that will be done in '26. That means we could potentially start at '27," a committee member said.
Details and follow up: The committee intends to pursue an RFI to solicit private‑sector interest in Coliseum rehabilitation options and will coordinate funding strategy with VanderWaal (Vandewell) and county executive staff. Members said redevelopment plans aim to preserve event continuity (World Dairy Expo and others) and to improve longer‑term financial sustainability for AEC operations.