By John Hank & Vicente Estrada
The city of Green Bay has built a new welcome center for people visiting to find out what to do and where to stay while in Green Bay.
“The almost $9 million facility dubbed the front door to the community will not only welcome visitors but community members alike.” (Matesic, Fox 11, 2023) The welcome center began construction in August of 2022 and completed construction in 2023 that same year, opening its doors to the public. “It’s a huge business for us,” Toll told the Green Bay Press-Gazette in 2023. They started with an event by having a DeLorean park out in front of the welcome center. The center had the car on loan from the local automotive museum here in Green Bay. This museum offers another attraction here in Green Bay.
The sign in front of the visitor center
The center cost an estimated 9 million, according to CEO Brad Toll. “The project was initially estimated at $6.5 million, but the delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic allowed the cost to increase.” Toll told the Green Bay Press-Gazette in Sept 2023. “We welcome six million visitors every single year to the region, and we’ve never had a place to talk to them before. So, having a place where we can say this is where you can go and explore.” Nick Meisner, vice president of digital marketing and communications at Discover Green Bay, told Fox 11 in 2023
The purpose of the new visitor center is to bring new tourists into Green Bay with a brand new building, as the local restaurant Anduzzis bought the old welcome center. Having the welcome center close to Lambeau Field would make sense, as the Green Bay Packers are a big draw for tourists coming to Green Bay.
This new center is colorful with the Green of the Packers and the blue of the waterways surrounding the city. This design choice wasn’t just for the city but also because it is eye-catching and draws tourists to the center. The street leading to Lambeau Field is an almost unofficial Main Street for Green Bay. Having the center located near this street and right off of the Highway 41 exit is a great location, as this is the main highway in Green Bay. Creating a central hub for tourism and commerce also creates less of a headache for people who need to find these services as now they don’t have to go to different buildings in different parts of the city.
The Front doors of the visitor center
“Having a place where we can say this is where you can go and explore, these are the things to do, this is where you can spend your money, these are the restaurants, is going to be special for the community,” Nick Meisner told Fox 11 in 2023
Sources
https://www.greenbay.com/draft25/
https://www.wbay.com/2022/06/28/groundbreaking-new-green-bay-visitors-center/