Supporting Milwaukee Rep vital to city's success

by Jeffrey Joerres

Milwaukee is having a moment.

The rest of the country is learning what we know — Milwaukee offers the exceptional amenities of much larger cities without all the hassles.

The spotlight is on us from hosting national political conventions, National Geographic naming us one of the best places in the world to visit and of course, our world champion Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee also has world-class performing arts, which in terms of attendance, draw more people than the Bucks and Milwaukee Brewers combined.

This didn’t happen by accident. It was well-planned by generations of leaders. In the 1950s, Miller Brewing CEO Fred Miller believed a world-class city needed professional sports and a professional theater. By the end of the decade, we had both Major League Baseball and Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Decades later, the community rallied to convert the Oneida Street Power Plant into a visionary three-theater complex bringing more than 10 million people downtown to attend Rep productions.

Today, Milwaukee Rep is the largest performing arts organization in Wisconsin serving 300,000 people annually including 20,000 students with its award-winning education programs.

However, after a 2018 elevator fire, a thorough independent analysis confirmed the need for a complete overhaul of our historic building. We have embarked on a campaign to build one of the most ambitious cultural venues in the country, creating our new home – the Associated Bank Theater Center.

As of July 1 we have raised $61 million toward our $75 million goal in order to move forward with our proposed construction timeline. As building costs continue to go up and the risk of significant failure in our aging building exponentially increases, it is crucial we continue with our ideal timeline. Along with top local firms EUA and Hunzinger Construction, we have completed all necessary tasks to finalize our construction timeline to be announced later this summer.

With your help, we are ready to make this once-in-a-generation opportunity become a reality. To learn more about our new theater, view renderings, and discover ways that you can join the more than 200 civic leaders who have already pledged, please visit the Powering Milwaukee Campaign site: www.MilwaukeeRep.com/PoweringMilwaukee.

Together with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s beautiful Bradley Center, the Milwaukee Ballet’s gorgeous Baumgartner Center, amazing new additions to the Milwaukee Youth Art Center, and of course the Calatrava addition to the Art Museum, the new Associated Bank Theater Center will cement Milwaukee’s place as a hub of creativity and innovation, attracting and retaining talent to southeastern Wisconsin, playing a vital role in economic development, and ensuring that Milwaukee is a wonderful place to live, work and play.