Center shows off remodel

Cost totals around $75 million

A new La Crosse Center was shown off Monday at a pair of public hearings in front of around 50 people.

Brent Smith, president of the Center board, said, “We can’t miss this chance,” about the need to improve the 35-year-old civic center to stay competitive in the tourism market. 

Smith showed off drawings of an expanded and remodeled Center, and told people attending the hearings that rapid growth in the local hotel industry is driving the need for modernizing the building.

The improvement list totals around $75 million in cost. Funding that cost was a big question asked by those in attendance.