The Baird Center (formerly Wisconsin Center, Midwest Express Center, Midwest Airlines Center, Frontier Airlines Center, and Delta Center) is a convention and exhibition center located in downtown

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. The center is part of a greater complex of buildings which includes the

UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena The UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (originally the Milwaukee Arena and formerly MECCA Arena and U.S. Cellular Arena) is an indoor arena located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The arena, which seats as many as 12,700 people and offers of floor space, is ...

and the Miller High Life Theatre, and was a replacement for the former

Great Hall A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages. It continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great cha ...

portion of the MECCA Complex. The convention center hosted the

2020 Democratic National Convention The 2020 Democratic National Convention was a United States presidential nominating convention, presidential nominating convention that was held from August 17 to 20, 2020, at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and virtual ...

. The event was initially planned to be held in the nearby

Fiserv Forum Fiserv Forum (; stylized as fiserv.forum) is a multi-purpose arena located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the home of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team ...

but was ultimately downsized due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Description

The venue straddles West Wells Street in downtown Milwaukee. It is operated by the Wisconsin Center District, which also operates the adjacent

and Miller High Life Theatre.

Skywalk The SkyWalk is an approximately 160 metre enclosed walkway connecting Union Station to the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre (SkyDome) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Part of Toronto's PATH network, the SkyWalk passes above the York Street ' s ...

s connect the

convention center A convention center (American and British English spelling differences, American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a Convention (meeting), convention, where individuals and groups ...

to the nearby Hilton ( Hilton Milwaukee City Center) and

Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational corporation, multinational hospitality company headquartered in the 150 North Riverside, Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchise ...

hotels. The convention center features of exhibition space, including two ballrooms.

Design

The architecture of the portions of the building opened in 1998 and 2000 reinterpret the many historic

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

buildings found in downtown Milwaukee. Along with art-as-design features, the John J. Burke Family Collection is scattered throughout the interior. On the Vel R. Phillips Ave side of the center is an outdoor reliquary garden named ''

City Yard ''City Yard'' is a public art work by artist Sheila Klein, located at the Wisconsin Center in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of th ...

''. Created by artist Sheila Klein, it contains many iconic items from Milwaukee's DPW such as fire hydrants and the classic blue police call box. Within this area are planters containing

ginkgo ''Ginkgo'' is a genus of non-flowering seed plants, assigned to the gymnosperms. The scientific name is also used as the English common name. The order to which the genus belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, , and ''Ginkgo'' is n ...

trees and a large monument with four

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

lion heads set in

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

. These architectural elements were salvaged from the

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

building that once stood nearby. The expansion that opened in 2024 differs architecturally, featuring a glassy and modern design. These initial segments of the building contained of contiguous exhibit space along with a

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called ''balls''. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially histori ...

. The expansion that was opened in 2024 provided an additional giving the convention center's approximately of exhibition space.

Art

Artist

Vito Acconci Vito Acconci (, ; January 24, 1940 – April 27, 2017) was an American performance art, performance, video and installation artist, whose diverse practice eventually included sculpture, architectural design, and landscape design. His performan ...

created an indoor-outdoor sculpture titled ''

Walkways Through the Wall ''Walkways Through the Wall'' is a public artwork by American artist Vito Acconci located at the Wisconsin Center, which is near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United Sta ...

''. Designed to integrate private and public space, these curled terra cotta colored concrete strips flow through structural boundaries and provide seating at both ends. Art was incorporated early in the design stage; the Hilton's skywalk entrance foyer floor features a green floor mosaic in the shape of Wisconsin, with Michigan depicted in gold, Minnesota in pink, Iowa in red, and Illinois in gray. Region inlays represent area industries and dairy cows. A half-dozen flush bronze containers contain different soil types. From the venue's opening until 2023, the southwest corner held an interactive art installation by

Dick Blau Dick Blau (born 1943) is a professor of film at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, a photographer and film maker, and a figure in the study of photography of the family Personal life Blau was born in 1943. His mother is actress Beatrice M ...

titled "Polka Time!". Also known as the "polkalator", it consisted of an escalator with 22 photos of

polka Polka is a dance style and genre of dance music in originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though generally associated with Czech and Central European culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the ...

dances on the wall, and a button labeled "Push to Play Polka" that played a random selection from 200 songs. Most of the photos were taken at a 1976 party in Milwaukee celebrating the

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memo ...

. In 2021, the venue suggested the removal of a photo with a man sticking out his tongue, but Blau refused because he considered the artwork a fixed set. The installation was removed on August 18, 2023, during the building's expansion project. Blau led an event to document the escalator on its last day. The Baird Center returned the artwork to Blau, who said it would be difficult to find a new venue for it.

Venue history

The convention center was opened in two phases: the first was completed in 1998, and the second completed in 2000. It was the largest design-build project in Wisconsin history. In 1998, $1.2million of public art was installed and named the John J. Burke Family Collection.

Expansion

In December 2019, Eppstein Uhen Architects and

tvsdesign TVS is an architecture, planning, and interior design firm in Atlanta. History Founded in 1968 by Bill Thompson, Tom Ventulett, and Ray Stainback, tvsdesign has designed several notable buildings in greater Atlanta and beyond throughout the year ...

were selected by the Wisconsin Center District to be the architecture team of the expansion project. In January 2020,

Gilbane Building Company Gilbane, Inc. (Gilbane) is a national construction and real estate development firm. It is the parent organization of Gilbane Building Company and Gilbane Development Company. Gilbane, Inc. is a sixth-generation, family-owned business. History ...

and C.D. Smith were awarded the construction management contract for the expansion. In February 2020, the

Milwaukee Common Council The municipal government of the U.S. city of Milwaukee, located in the state of Wisconsin, consists of a mayor and common council. Traditionally supporting progressive politicians and movements, this community has consistently proved to be a stro ...

granted the Wisconsin Center District Board approval to finance the planned $420 million expansion to the venue. In April 2020, the Wisconsin Center District Board approved the expansion. In the autumn of 2020, the Wisconsin Center District sold bonds to finance the expansion. Plans are to pay off the bonds over a 40-year period, through

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, containing about 1 ...

hotel, restaurant, and car rental taxes levied by the Wisconsin Center District, with debt payments beginning in 2027. Site work for the expansion began in the summer of 2021. The

groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, turf-cutting, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such cer ...

ceremony was held on October 28, 2021. Designed by Eppstein Uhen Architects and tvsdesign, the expansion differs in architectural style from the existing structure, being more modern and glassy. The expansion roughly doubled the venue's square footage by adding of exhibition space and of overall space to a total of The expansion is designed to enable the venue to hold two conventions simultaneously, with the convention center's new wing having its own separate entrance, as well as a second ballroom, which is in size. The new exhibition space also includes 24 new meeting rooms, increasing the convention center's total to 52. Other additions the expansion includes are an outdoor terrace, six additional

loading dock A loading dock or loading bay is an area of a building where goods vehicles (usually road or rail) are loaded and unloaded. They are commonly found on commercial and industrial buildings, and warehouses in particular. Loading docks may be exteri ...

s, 400 new indoor parking spots, new public art, a second kitchen, The expansion is being built atop land previously occupied by parking lots on the block of the convention center between West Wells Street and West Kilbourn Avenue. In May 2022, the Wisconsin Center District board disclosed that the final cost of the expansion would likely be double the original estimate of $420 million, with the board laying blame on

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

. It ultimately cost $465 million. The expansion was substantially completed on March 29, 2024, and was officially opened on May 16, 2024.

Names

When the convention center opened in the 1990s, its naming rights were initially sold to

Midwest Airlines Midwest Airlines (formerly Midwest Express Airlines) was an airline in the United States headquartered in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, that operated from Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport between 1984 and 2010. For a short time, it also op ...

. On April 13, 2010, Republic Airways Holdings CEO

Bryan Bedford Bryan Keith Bedford (born October 26, 1961) is an American business executive who has served as the chief executive of Republic Airways Holdings since 1999. In March 2025, President Donald Trump named Bedford as his nominee to serve as administr ...

announced that the name would change to Frontier Airlines Center, coinciding with the consolidation of brands between

Frontier Airlines Frontier Airlines, Inc. is a major American ultra low-cost airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 120 destinations in the United States, Caribbean, Mexico and Central America, and employs more than 5,000 staff. ...

and Midwest Airlines. On August 15, 2012,

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...

purchased the building's naming rights as part of the carrier's recent expansion at Milwaukee's

General Mitchell International Airport Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport is a civil–military airport south of downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States., effective April 17, 2025. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated ...

. The facility changed its name from the Frontier Airlines Center to the Delta Center effective from September 19, 2012; signage was replaced accordingly in November. On June 30, 2013, Delta terminated its naming rights at the center and the facility was officially renamed the "Wisconsin Center" the following day. In March 2023, local investment firm Robert W. Baird & Co. purchased the convention center's naming rights. This took effect on July 1, 2023.

Event history

Alongside the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee, the center hosted the

2004 Green National Convention The 2004 Green National Convention was held at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee and the Midwest Airlines Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 23–28, 2004 to nominate the Green Party's candidates for president and vice president. Ralph Nader, t ...

. The first three days of the convention were held at the Hyatt Regency, while the final day was held at the convention center. The center hosted the

. The event was initially planned to be held in the nearby

but was ultimately downsized due to the

References

External links

Official website
{{Democratic National Convention venues Convention centers in Wisconsin Buildings and structures in Milwaukee Tourist attractions in Milwaukee