Baird Center’s Bold, Proud and Experience Obsessed service sets high bar
It was an eventful year for Baird Center’s inaugural campaign.
The minute the doors of the expansion and modernization opened on May 16, 2024, we wanted the experience at Baird Center events to be unrivaled. The bar was set that night with a gala this city will never forget.
Since then, it has been one amazing event followed by another. We’ve been busier than ever as we’ve claimed our spot among the best convention centers in the country. In July, we welcomed the Republican National Convention. A month after that, we hosted Connect Marketplace, bringing in thousands of event planners from around the country to let them see first-hand what all the buzz was about.
Conventions, sporting events, meetings, gaming tournaments, expos and so much more have filled our calendar. A year later, we’ve hosted more than 200 events.
As we celebrate the one-year anniversary, we reached out to some of the people we’ve hosted in the last year to get their thoughts on the Baird Center experience.
These are their stories.
Redefining what a convention center is
Even before Baird Center construction was complete, its potential was apparent to some of the country’s best meeting planners.
That’s according to Erica Miller, Director of Events for Connect Marketplace, who had never visited Milwaukee before. The annual meeting draws over 1,000 event planners alongside a countrywide array of convention and visitor bureaus.
The 2025 edition found its way to Milwaukee last August. That coincided with Connect Marketplace seeking a new vision for its event. Organizers wanted it to look, act and feel different and offer new programming like a closing night concert featuring rapper Lil Jon.
What better place to do this than a convention center in the midst of an exciting new era itself.
“When we walked into the ballroom and exhibition hall, it felt like we could do whatever we wanted,” Miller said. “We had that option because they were designed to have so many options. We didn’t feel restricted. Seeing how it came to life, the event turned out even better than we thought possible.”
While the Baird Ballroom and exhibition space easily housed the various setups, some two-stories tall, for the tourism bureaus, Miller also praised the many features that made Baird Center feel different than other convention centers around the country.
Specifically, she highlighted the natural light the building offers just steps away from the action, the We Energies Foundation Art Collection that makes the venue feel unlike a traditional convention center and the Baird Sky View Terrace with fresh air and stunning views of the Milwaukee skyline.
Plus, Miller also lauded Baird Center staff, both front and back of the house, for executing the event.
“The hospitality from everyone at Baird Center is what we really miss,” Miller said. “Everywhere we go now, they have to live up to that Milwaukee experience. It’s not my call, but I hope we go back there.”
Miller said leads and requests for proposals are still coming in to Visit Milwaukee because the city hosted Connect Marketplace last year.
Baird Center will play host to similar large-scale event planner and association conventions in the coming years, including Expo Expo in 2026 and the sports industry event TEAMS in 2027.
“These events have a big impact on bringing future events to host cities, and feedback showed us that everyone walked away learning something new about Milwaukee and they could see hosting a potential meeting there,” Miller said. “If you haven’t been to Milwaukee in a while, you’re going to be pleasantly surprised.”
A sports venue on the rise
Sports might not be your first thought about a convention center, but for two weekends in March, Badger Region Volleyball Championships might make you rethink that.
The annual tournament is the largest volleyball event in Wisconsin. It has grown exponentially, including by about 100 teams each of the past few years. In 2025, they reached a new high by fielding 850 teams across two weekends in Baird Center.
“Baird Center is a fantastic sports venue because of how it’s laid out with high ceilings and so much free space,” Badger Region Volleyball Executive Director and Commissioner Jennifer Armson-Dyer said. “Some venues we play in have cages hanging down or multiple columns. People had so much space to spread out in the Pre-function space.”
The action took place across 55 courts, which was 15 more than they have previously had thanks to the expanded exhibit space.
Not including players, coaches and officials, which, for both weekends, totaled around 10,000, the tournament drew more than 10,000 spectators the first weekend and around 8,000 the second weekend.
Armson-Dyer said despite massive crowds both weekends, teams and fans were able to spread out around the building.
“It was such a joy to have people walk into the new space and just realize how big it was, how tall the ceilings were, how long the room stretched,” Armson-Dyer said. “We’re already talking about how we can utilize this space to get more people in.”
In the next few months, Baird Center will play host to some prestigious sporting events. That list boasts names like US Junior Nationals Girls’ Basketball Windy City Classic, the USA Wrestling 2025 Junior National Duals and the 2025 USA Fencing Summer Nationals.
Anime MKE able to do more with more
As Anime MKE planned for its 2025 event in March, the ultra-popular celebration of anime and Japanese culture had a new challenge this past year. After doubling its number of attendees to nearly 18,000 in the span of five years, they now had to figure out how to bring in enough new attractions to fill an unprecedented amount of space.
That came with the opening of the Baird Center expansion. Anime MKE had filled the convention center’s south building for years. Now, it had a chance to physically grow with a variety of new spaces available on both sides of Wells Street.
“We needed to grow out of necessity to accommodate the crowds and interest,” Anime MKE Director of Communications Luke Marsden said. “More space meant more people, expanded vendor lists and areas, programming, new experiences and the North Building was the key to that.”
While Anime MKE did not utilize all of the rooms, its footprint spanned most of the venue. In addition to offering its traditional vendors and programming, Anime MKE added an area to set up sewing machines for classes and seminars on cosplay design and expanded its cosplay photography area.
Yet, they also found that attendees flocked to the Collaborative Staircase and “The Great Five” Water feature for photos and a place to sit while recharging themselves and their phones while being bathed in natural light.
“The feedback we’ve received so far is about how much people loved the new space and how we utilized it,” Anime MKE Facilities Assistant Director Amy Lowe said. “I’ve been to conventions where it’s really crowded, so people loved being able to spread out and find their own spaces to sit and talk.”
The venue welcomed a crowd of nearly 18,000 people once again in 2025. With one year under their belt in the updated Baird Center, Anime MKE said it hopes to expand again in the future by utilizing more of the venue like the Baird Ballroom.
“There’s still so much space we haven’t used yet in the building that we’re really excited to use at some point” Marsden said. “We’re grateful to have the Baird Center expansion to maximize what we can do. We’re excited for what everyone will see there from us in the coming years.”
Punching above our weight for meetings of all sizes
When John Daniels and The Fellowship, a Milwaukee group that fundraises to support youth nonprofits in the area, have hosted their annual fundraising breakfast over the last 10 years, they have always sought places that offer a Milwaukee experience that showcases its culture.
With about 75% of their roughly 40 attendees from outside the state, Midwestern tradition is to show visitors hospitality. Many venues have played host around the city over the years, and when searching for its 2024 location, it took one visit to Baird Center for Daniels to know where to go.
“I was here for a gala and it almost felt like an art museum with all of this locally made art everyone was talking about,” John Daniels, chairman of The Fellowship, said. “Then I saw the view from the Baird Sky View Terrace. A centrally located space in the city by all the hotels, we knew this was it.”
What Daniels didn’t expect when his organization booked the venue was that their experience would go far beyond the space and catering. Having a connection with artist Reginald Baylor, who is one of the featured artists with work in the We Energies Foundation Art Collection, Daniels was surprised when a Baird Center employee took his group floor to floor to showcase the entire collection and share stories of each piece.
“It was so refreshing for people who are not from here to see the cultural diversity of our city, the rich heritage we have,” Daniels said. “The convention center has professional ambiance, obviously, but it also does a great job for people who are interested in learning more about what is Milwaukee, what makes Milwaukee great, both in art and in celebrations these spaces bring about.”
Additionally, one of the breakfast’s partners was able to take footage from the Baird Sky View Terrace and they were surprised to have access to the Large Kilbourn Terrace on the second floor just outside their meeting space.
Daniels said the event was a success. While his organization will continue to showcase more venues in the years to come, they hope to use the space again for this or other events.
“You’re not just renting a room. This space provides an environment that cultivates conversation and brings about community in a way that many people wouldn’t think about,” Daniels said. “Baird Center definitely punches above its weight class for a city of our size.”