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"Conventions are outgrowing Milwaukee as talks to build more space at the Wisconsin Center continue.John Smith, from Syracuse, New York, travels nationwide to trade shows.VIDEO:\u00A0Proposed expansion could bring more conventions to MilwaukeeHe was wrapping up an exhibit at the National Electrical Wire Processing Technology Expo\u00A0at the Wisconsin Center on Thursday, and WISN 12 News reporter Hillary Mintz asked him to compare Milwaukee's convention center to others he's been to.\"It's actually a very nice facility. It's not as big as some,\" Smith said.Mintz told him about a proposed expansion that would add more exhibition and meeting space.\"I think there's always room for improvement anywhere, and they're going to sink money into it, it's only going to bring more people in,\" Smith said.Visit Milwaukee's Paul Upchurch said that's the plan.\"We know there's a lot out there that would love to come to Milwaukee if we had the space to accommodate them,\" Upchurch said.A study out this week done by a Chicago firm Visit Milwaukee hired shows that with more space, they could bring in about 50 extra conventions a year, which would generate an extra $65 million for the city.They also polled event planners who considered coming to Milwaukee, but didn't. Thirty percent said it was because of an unavailable date and 35 percent said there isn't enough space.Those are the two main reasons why two popular conventions have skipped town. Gen Con left about 10 years ago, Lia Sophia jewelry was a regular in June, but now it will join Gen Con in Indianapolis.\"Expanding this facility, would be a wonderful thing. If you could bring in larger shows, I think they'd come,\" said Bob Grenke, a Chicago exhibitor.The expansion is part of a conversation that calls for a much larger plan to redo the area around the convention center and put in a new arena.\u00A0"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.wisn.com/article/proposed-expansion-at-wisconsin-center-could-help-keep-conventions-in-milwaukee/6321418>