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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 A u g u s t 2 0 14 • I nsIgh t | 11 now, the roland Kampo Bridge and highway 441 handle more than 60,000 vehicles a day, scott ebel, the project manager for the Wisconsin department of transportation, says. When finished, the improved roadway is projected to handle 88,000 vehicles a day by 2038. "at capacity is one of the major items the reconstruction will address," he says. "ere will also be safety and other issues addressed." some of the other issues ebel referred to are the addition of noise walls, roundabouts and bicycle and pedestrian accommodations. e project to revamp highway 441 will also complement the reconstruction of highway 41 in Brown and outagamie counties. once completed, that $1.51 billion project will expand and renovate a total of 31 miles of highway 41 in the two counties. Plans to upgrade highway 41 to interstate status are still awaiting action on the federal level. Congress needs to pass grandfathering legislation that will allow Wisconsin to keep the current weight limits on highway 41 when converted to an interstate. at legislation has passed the house, but the senate has yet to take up the measure and has no timetable to do so. While it will take several years to complete the project, Burgland says it's nice to know there is an end date to the dreaded calls from motorists coming east on highway 10 who have already crossed highway 41 and are still looking for a northbound turnoff. While the mall was part of a successful lobbying effort several years ago to have signs added along highway 10 showing the alternate routes, the new exits will be a welcome addition. "When you look at all the businesses located in this part of the region, it is sort of frightening to think what we are putting those customers through," Burgland says. "now we know for certain that will end." 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 S e a n P. J o h n s o n » HIgHwAy 41 CORRIdOR Brown, Calumet, Outagamie, Winnebago, Fond du Lac Counties Games could pay big dividends for Fox Valley e games children play are now a viable economic development strategy for growing the local economy. at's the message delivered to regional tourism officials and sports advocates by the huddle up group, a consulting firm hired to study the value of sports tourism to the Fox Cities. nationally, sports tourism is an $8.2 billion industry that grew by more than 9 percent in 2012. For the Fox Cities area, sports tourism was responsible for more than 38,000 hotel room bookings in 2013. It is estimated that families attending those events spend $108 per day. "sports is now economic development strategy," says Jon schmieder, founder and Ceo of huddle up group. "ere are states now that are using sports as a top-line strategy for economic development. states like Indiana have done it for more than 25 years." If new north wants to capture a larger piece of the sports tourism pie, it's going to have to build the facilities that will attract those major events to the area. While there are some assets in place – the scheels usa sports Complex, for example – there is a critical need for an indoor, hard- court facility that could attract larger basketball and volleyball tournaments. a new multi-court facility could cost as much as $24 million. enhancements to existing facilities, as well as long range planning and marketing, also are a must, schmieder says. huddle up group recommends the Fox Cities Convention & Facilities Bureau lead a campaign to finance and operate the facility through a 2 percent increase in the hotel bed tax. even with the increase, the hotel bed tax for the Fox Cities region would still be lower than adjacent areas such as green Bay or oshkosh. as proposed, the increase would raise $1 million annually for 30 years. In addition to the boost in the room tax, huddle up group also recommended the CvB dedicate $500,000 of its existing budget to the launch of the new facility and $100,000 a year to operate it. approval of any hotel bed tax increase would still require the approval of the 19 communities that make up the Fox Cities region. e CvB is still studying the proposal and has not announced whether it will pursue any of the recommendations. Con-way opens new facility, adds jobs Con-way Freight dedicated a new $8 million service center in Fond du lac that will serve as a daily freight pickup and delivery point for businesses throughout the region. located just off of u.s. highway 41, the 47,000-square-foot freight facility will employ more than 100, with 60 of those positions being new hires. In addition to handling freight, the new facility includes driver sales representatives, operations support, sales, customer service and administration. e new service center also allows for the consolidation of smaller service centers previously located in Fond du lac, sheboygan and [continued ] »