MADISON (WKOW) – Dane County officials and leaders at the Alliant Energy Center are discussing renovation ideas for the center's Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The Veterans Memorial Coliseum is a venue with decades of memories, but due to the lack of renovations, it has struggled to match competitors in providing the experience for both artists and fans.
Dane County Executive Melissa Agard and Alliant Energy Center Director Kevin Scheibler hosted a town meeting to invite residents to provide input and learn more about the county’s vision for the project.
"We need to update the experience for the performers, and we need to update the experience for the people who are going to come and spend their hard earned dollars within the facility," Agard said.
She says she is looking forward to threading concerns and dreams together to create this project for potential partners.
"A big part of that drop off is because entertainers aren’t really wanting to book here," Agard said. "We aren’t meeting their needs."
The set up for artists isn’t the only structural issue they are dealing with. Scheibler was also at the meeting to explain why the renovation is needed.
"This looks and feels the same way it did when it was opened," Scheibler said. "If it’s a drag to get in and out, if the seats are uncomfortable, if they can’t understand because the speakers aren’t very good, or the sidelines aren't very good, people won’t go."
Agard says they are hopeful about the request for public-private partnerships and are looking to have partnerships secured by summer.
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