MEDIA ALERT: What’s New in Milwaukee in 2018

Milwaukee, WI, Nov. 28, 2017 --

The coming year brings many exciting changes in Milwaukee for tourists and locals alike. Here are few of the most notable.

New Attractions

• Milwaukee’s streetcar begins operation in the fall of 2018.  The streetcar’s initial 2.5-mile route connects 80,000 downtown workers, 25,000 downtown residents, and millions of annual visitors. ­
• The Milwaukee Bucks, the city’s NBA team, is building a new arena, the Wisconsin Sports and Entertainment Center. The $524-million arena is scheduled to open in time for the season to start in October 2018. The arena will also host national touring acts like Maroon 5 and will be the home court for Marquette University’s men’s basketball team. But it’s not just an arena – surrounding it will be a “live block” with a music venue, restaurants, and bars.
• Two blocks from the new arena project will be Milwaukee Brewing Company’s brand new brewery operations located in a former Pabst Brewing Company distribution building. MBC, which opened in 1997, is the third oldest craft brewer in Milwaukee.
• Summerfest will debut a new stage in time for the 2018 festival. The stage will provide a Lake Michigan view and feature a 25-foot LED screen – the largest screen on the grounds.
• An area called the Harbor District, just south of the Historic Third Ward, is being revitalized in many ways, including a proposed four-mile extension of the award-winning RiverWalk. Construction on a new waterfront park, dubbed Slosh Park, will begin in spring 2018.

Hotels

• A new 150-room Hyatt Place in the former Pabst Brewery complex is opening in July.
• Homewood Suites on Water Street in the heart of downtown opens in late 2017 in a converted historic building.
• Hotel Metro, a stylish art deco boutique lodging option, will be converted to a Marriott Autograph hotel in 2018.
• A former Milwaukee Public School will be converted into a hotel in 2018, with plans to open as the Ambassador Suites in 2019.
• Potawatomi Hotel & Casino will begin construction on its second hotel tower, which will add 119 rooms and is scheduled to be completed in 2019.

Restaurants

• After a 6-year hiatus, restaurant Osteria returns in downtown Milwaukee.
• Milwaukee’s first cat café, Sip & Purr, opens in early 2018.
• Glorioso’s, the famous Italian grocery, is working on a major expansion that is planned to be completed in 2018. It will offer cooking classes, demonstrations, food and beverage experiences, and event space.
• Wisconsin’s first Shake Shack is scheduled to open in December 2017.

Retail

• The Mayfair Collection in Wauwatosa is continuing to add stores.
• The state’s first Ikea opens in summer of 2018 in nearby Oak Creek.

Expansions/Exhibits/Events

• In early January 2018, the Pettit National Ice Center will host the Olympic long-track speed skating trials in advance of the Winter Olympics in February 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
• The Milwaukee County Zoo’s hugely expanded elephant exhibit opens in June 2018.
• The Milwaukee Public Museum has two new special exhibits in 2018: Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed and Frogs: A Chorus of Colors.
• Special exhibitions at Milwaukee Art Museum include Coming Away: Winslow Homer and England (March 1–May 20, 2018) and The Open Road: Photography and the American Road Trip (January 26–April 22, 2018), the first exhibition to consider the American photographic road trip.
• Part of Discovery World’s major expansion opens in summer of 2018.
• A new Oktoberfest celebration comes to downtown Milwaukee in 2018.
• Culture vultures will appreciate that the Milwaukee Film Festival - the 15-day cinema fest that attracts over 80,000 attendees, screens nearly 300 films, and is celebrating its 10th year in 2018 - is taking over the historic Oriental Theatre in July 2018. This means festival organizers will have increased opportunities for year-round programming.

Major Anniversaries

• Harley-Davidson is celebrating their 115^th anniversary in 2018. They will be celebrating over Labor Day weekend with parties at the H-D Museum, dealerships, and across the city, destination Harley rides, a Harley parade throughout the city, and many more activities.
• The Milwaukee Bucks celebrate their 50^th anniversary in 2018.

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Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7cef9011-73ba-44c6-ad62-e39fb75b2121

Kristin Settle
VISIT Milwaukee
414-287-6230
[email protected]