Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the Alliant Energy Center
Discussions about renovating the aging Veterans Memorial Coliseum began in 2017.
Dane County officials are looking at private partners to potentially take over operations or gain exclusive booking rights at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Alliant Energy Center executive director Kevin Scheibler said at a meeting of the center’s redevelopment county committee.
In return, the private partner would help fund a $150 million Alliant Energy Center Coliseum renovation project.
“We would have to make some concessions if we think a developer will come in and want to give money to help this project,” Scheibler said at the Feb. 24 meeting.
Depending on negotiations, those concessions could include booking exclusivity, calendar control, or “total management of the Coliseum,” Scheibler said. These arrangements would only apply to the Coliseum, Scheibler tells Isthmus in an email, and not the Alliant Center’s other three venues.
Scheibler mentioned three entertainment groups — Live Nation, AEG Worldwide and Oak View Group — that previously expressed interest in a 2020 proposal to redevelop the Alliant Energy Center and could potentially be interested in renovating the Coliseum. Live Nation, the largest live entertainment company in the world, is the parent company of Ticketmaster and has a controlling interest in the Madison-based Frank Productions, the group that operates such Madison music venues as the High Noon Saloon, Majestic Theatre and The Sylvee.
Were Live Nation, currently subject to a U.S. Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit, to control the Alliant Energy Center, the group would effectively operate concert venues of all sizes across Madison.
The Dane County Board created the Alliant Energy Center Redevelopment Committee in 2018 to guide redevelopment of the county-owned and operated Alliant Energy Center. Newly elected County Executive Melissa Agard told Isthmus in June 2024 that turning the center into an “economic driver” would be a top priority of hers. Scheibler said the county would also seek state funding for the redevelopment, but “the county is not going to have the resources to pay for it all by itself.”
Though the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the center’s 10,000-seat arena, once drew artists such as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, ticket sales have atrophied. An April 2024 report by real estate consultant Hunden Partners called the venue “obsolete” for larger concerts, family shows and sporting events, adding that “its size and shape are not compatible with modern event needs.”
Scheibler noted at the meeting that the Alliant Energy Center pulled in around $8 million in concert sales over the last three years. It takes “too long” for musical acts to rig the building for sound and lights, Scheibler said, and “the back house is not what entertainers want.”
Although some have proposed tearing down the Coliseum and replacing it with an entirely new building, Scheibler said there’s history and an emotional connection to the building. The Coliseum’s foundation, he adds, is solid, but its interior needs an update. Scheibler envisioned bringing “top-tier arena acts” — artists such as Playboi Carti, Ariana Grande and A$AP Rocky — once the venue is renovated similar to facilities in Champaign, Illinois and Minneapolis.
And given that Camp Randall will this year host shows by Coldplay and Morgan Wallen — the stadium’s first concerts since 1997 — Scheibler said the music industry is “looking favorably” upon Dane County.
“Now really is the time to act on this,” Scheibler said. He said ideally that a request for proposals would be issued in 2025, with construction to start in 2026 and project completion by 2027 or 2028.
Some committee members said they’d like more time to weigh other ideas, including whether the county should issue a request for information from potential partners prior to opening the project to proposals.
“I wonder if a [request for proposals] isn't premature,” Supv. Jeff Glazer said. “By starting at kind of a further point back to say, ‘What are you interested in?’ we might get some more creative responses.”
Ellie Westman Chin, president and CEO of Destination Madison, said Scheibler’s presentation was “pretty concert heavy.” Though Chin said a public-private partnership would be beneficial for the renovation, she expressed concern that “we would be limited in what we could book into the venue.”
“If it's a concert focus, they hold a lot of dates, because concerts book pretty short term,” Chin said.
The contracts Alliant has with such clients as the World Dairy Expo, Midwest Horse Fair and Badger State Wrestling tournament, would be honored, said Scheibler, who noted any renovation plans would “work around” clients to ensure construction does not impact their dates. He also said the center would continue to host athletic and family events.
Committee members requested that Scheibler present more details about the scope and specifics of his proposal at a future meeting.
