MADISON, Wis. — For decades, Veterans Memorial Coliseum has been the centerpiece of the Alliant Energy Center campus.

While the place holds fond memories for many in Madison, the aging facility hasn’t kept up with the times.

What You Need To Know

  • Dane County leaders are considering a private partnership to help cover the costs of a $150 million renovation to the Alliant Energy Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum

  • Depending on the deal, the private partner could get exclusive booking rights or even take over operations, but that wouldn’t apply to the other three venues on the campus

  • Last month, Dane County Executive Melissa Agard held a community meeting to get feedback on what the county should seek out when it gets responses to its request for proposals
  • Local leaders hope to start redevelopment on the Coliseum, which opened in 1967 and can hold more than 10,000 visitors, within the next year

With $150 million in needed renovations to the Coliseum, Dane County leaders are considering a private partnership. In exchange for helping pay for the project, that private partner could potentially get exclusive booking rights or even take over operations.

“This looks and feels the same way it did when this building was opened,” Alliant Energy Center Executive Director Kevin Scheibler said during a media tour of the facility last month.

The Coliseum opened in 1967 when hosting concerts and sporting events looked a lot different than it does today. That’s why Scheibler said bringing the building back to its former glory is going to take some help.

“What that looks like, we’re not sure,” Scheibler explained. “A lot of it will depend on how much the partners are going to invest, and we as a county have to be open to all the options and evaluate everything, find out what is best for us to get this project moving forward.”

Dane County Executive Melissa Agard said she hopes to start redevelopment within the next year. Last month, she and Scheibler hosted a community meeting to get a better idea of what the county should seek out when it gets responses to its request for proposals.

“They will come back to us, and we will take a look at them and see who out there is excited about partnering and what their vision is, and how that vision matches what it is we have heard from people through this process,” Agard said.

Depending on the deal, a private partner might get control of the calendar or bookings at the Coliseum. Total management of the facility isn’t out of the realm of possibilities either. Still, regardless of the agreement, it wouldn’t apply to the other three venues on the Alliant Energy Center campus.

For a facility that holds more than 10,000 visitors, the to-do list is anything but short.

From upgrading stadium seating and suites to concession choices, even redoing the ceiling so it can hold heavier rigging, the improvements aren’t inexpensive.

All of the changes aren’t for just fans. Bigger and better locker rooms and fixes to the loading dock are out of sight but top of mind.

“They want a four-star hotel feel backstage, and they are getting it everywhere they go,” Scheibler added.

Despite already having a great entertainment scene, Scheibler said Madison is missing out.

“The Sylvee and the Orpheum and the High Noon — they help build the artist, and then those people should be coming back when they advance to the next level of their career. Instead of coming back to Madison, they are going somewhere else because there’s no place here for them to go,” Scheibler said.

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