Board hopes to approve design plans for $40-million La Crosse Center expansion in Dec.

City council could vote on approval in Jan. 

The La Crosse city council may finally get its chance to vote on the $40-plus-million La Crosse Center renovations.

Center board president Brent Smith said Monday the council could do so during its first meeting in January.

Smith hopes the board will recommend a design plan at its December meeting.

The newest design plans will be shown to the council and the public Nov. 9.

Meanwhile, the center says convention business is looking good for next year.

The building could host 27 major meetings in the new year — the highest number since 2012. Nearly a decade has passed since the last time the center hosted as many as 30 conventions in a single year.

Last year, the number of conventions at the La Crosse Center dropped below 20 for the first time since the most recent building expansion in 2000.

The glut of new hotels downtown is being credited for some of the renewed interest in bringing large meetings to La Crosse.