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w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m M a y 2 0 14 • I nsIgh t | 11 and become an anchor on the west end. on the other side, the KI is already connected to the hyatt on Main hotel. although the KI is expanding, it is still smaller than convention centers in downtown Milwaukee and Madison and the Kalahari resort and Convention Center in the Wisconsin Dells. other top convention sites in the state are the La Crosse Center and the grand geneva resort & spa in Lake geneva. toll says green Bay has a lot to offer meeting planners looking for a unique location for their events. "everyone knows who the green Bay Packers are and people have heard of green Bay, so that raises our profile a bit," he says. "We've been at some national trade shows and people said they were interested in coming to green Bay, but we didn't have the space to accommodate them." at will change when the expansion opens. toll says the KI is aggressively being marketed for national events and a new website is in the works to tout the center's expansion. "We are active in the Chicago area, meeting with planners, and are looking to do something in the Madison area too. We talk not only about the KI, but also the renovations at Lambeau field, what's happening at the radisson near the airport and other unique qualities our city has to offer," toll says. When event planners look at locations, they first want to make sure there is enough space and then look at hotel accommodations. aer that, they look at what makes a site unique, he says. "In green Bay, we have that in spades. ere's a lot we can offer beyond just something at Lambeau," toll says. "If the weather is nice, we could do something on City Deck or at the green Bay Botanical gardens or at the neW Zoo. e possibilities are endless." o n t h e w e b Greater Green Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau www.greenbay.com regional rounduP U P F R O N T For links to economic development groups in the New North, visit www.thenewnorth.com/partners Development in the new north B y F e l i c i a C l a r k » HiGHWay 41 CORRidOR Brown, Calumet, Outagamie, Winnebago, Fond du Lac Counties Meyer Theatre to develop banquet and office space e Meyer eatre in green Bay will develop the two-story, former Daily Planet site next door into a theater banquet and office space. e first floor will be called "Backstage at the Meyer." e site, on the corner of Walnut and Washington streets, will provide space for pre-show events, such as dinners before performances, post- show parties, weddings and corporate functions. e space will accommodate up to 175 people for banquets and 300 for theater events. e second level will offer professional space for one or multiple tenants with parking in the Cherry street parking ramp. e two levels are each 6,000 square feet. Plans for the site were announced in february along with a $4.5 million capital campaign for the theater and the new development. e capital campaign will include $3 million for the building development, $1 million to double the current theater endowment and $500,000 for major maintenance work. e campaign will be chaired by Bob atwell of nicolet Bank. e Meyer eatre leaders anticipate breaking ground on the project this spring and opening in late fall 2014. Donated aircraft moved to FVTC training center a Boeing 727 aircra donated by fedex to fox Valley technical College was moved in february from an outagamie County regional airport storage area to its new home at fVtC's Public safety training Center. e training center is being constructed on airport property as a part of the $66.5 million fVtC referendum approved by voters in a nine-county region in april 2012. e airplane was donated to fVtC in fall 2012 by fedex to help train police, firefighters and emergency responders deal with onboard emergencies, such as a passenger having a heart attack or a hijacker taking passengers hostage. e center is a 75-acre complex that will allow multi-disciplinary public safety training in realistic settings, including a mock village, outdoor forensic laboratory and an emergency vehicle driving range. e project is estimated to cost $35 million and is set to open in January. It is one of few public safety training centers in the country to integrate paramedic, police and fire training in one setting. Ripon College capital campaign reaches goal Imagine tomorrow, ripon College's five-year comprehensive capital campaign, reached its $50 million goal in January with an original timeline of July 2015. e college is keeping the timeline in place and is raising its goal to $60 million. [continued ] » FVTC, with the help of Case iH/Service Motor Company, moves its donated Boeing 727 FedEx plane at the Outagamie County Regional airport in preparation for the opening of the new Public Safety Training Center in January. C O U R T e s y O F F V T C