KI Convention Center expansion unclear

GREEN BAY - Green Bay's mayor says the expansion plans for the KI Convention Center will be dead without finances from a proposed hike to the county's hotel room tax.

If Brown County moves forward with plans to raise its room tax from 8% to 10%, it would create more than a million dollars of new funds each year.

Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt wants half of that money to go toward a $19 million expansion of the KI Convention Center.

“We're the third largest city in the state,” said Schmitt. “We have the ninth largest convention center. We are getting beat and we need to upgrade to become the fifth largest convention center.”

The roadblock to Schmitt's plan is the area's other municipalities. During a meeting Wednesday afternoon, community leaders from Allouez, Ashwaubenon, Bellevue, De Pere and Howard all said they support putting the new money toward the area's convention and visitors bureau.

“We feel we are under promoted and under funded and we want that to be used to promote the whole area before we throw up more bricks and mortar,” said Michael Aubinger, the village president of Ashwaubenon.

Tourism leader Brad Toll says the new room tax funds would put the area's convention and visitor’s bureau more in line with its competition.

“Even with the 2%, we're a little under percentage wise what other communities are doing,” said Toll.

One thing all the community leaders agree on is they all would benefit from an expansion of the KI Convention Center. Some believe the expansion could happen without the room tax hike money. However, Schmitt says that isn't an option.

“If all the 2% goes to the visitors and convention bureau, to advertising, it will kill the convention center project,” said Schmitt. “We'll have a great advertising budget, but not the right products to model.”

“We've been doing this for about, gosh, over a year and suddenly at the last minute we receive another proposal and I'm not saying we won't consider it, but I guess we wish that this proposal would've came out sooner,” said Aubinger.

The community leaders will take up Schmitt's proposal in March.

The current 8% room tax goes toward paying off bonds used to build the KI Convention Center and the Resch Center.

Reported by:  Fox11 WLUK-TV