Summerfest chairman talks about $20M renovation
MILWAUKEE - For the rest of us, pondering how to spend upwards of $20 million to improve the Summerfest grounds is a hypothetical exercise.
Dan Minahan, though, will have his hands on the plans and the cash.
Minahan, president of Continental Properties Co., became chairman of Milwaukee World Festival Inc. in February and will reign over still-in-planning renovations that will affect roughly a third of the 75-acre Maier Festival Park for decades. Perhaps appropriately, Minahan brings 12 years as a real estate attorney and his experience as a developer to the headliner spot on the World Festival board.
On the eve of the 41st Summerfest, Minahan shared his view of the Big Gig of 2008 and beyond, navigating as carefully through the questions as a man carrying four beers to the new Harley-Davidson stage.
A. The success ultimately is measured by the individual festival-goer's experience being a positive one. Summerfest, particularly in the time we find ourselves today, offers fun and an enjoyable respite from all the other bad news that we're hearing out there bad economy, we've had bad weather, we have high gas prices; all we hear is bad news. Summerfest is an opportunity for people to get away from all that and have fun and enjoy a real high entertainment value.
Q.How do you see some of the bad news, gas prices and the economic pinch affecting your attendance and, more important, revenue?
A. We can only speculate at this point, but we hope we are accurate in our thought that we're going to get a boost from all of that. We're hoping that people see the next 11 days as an opportunity to stay home and still be able to have a real festive and action-packed holiday season, and be able to do that by coming down to Summerfest once, twice or even more often.
Q.With your background in property development, looking at the lakefront from Veterans Park to the Marcus Amphitheater, what would you do to maximize the value of that property?
A. Milwaukee must first realize that it's done a terrific job. When you look at other similar lakefront locations, Milwaukee has done a terrific job in what it has to offer. We've got a great spot on the lake, all the way up and down from Bradford Beach to Calatrava to Discovery World and the festival grounds. The key to it is being able to provide an opportunity for as many of our residents, our citizens, in Milwaukee access to all that the lakefront offers.
Q.What opportunities do you see to expand the use of the Summerfest grounds for a greater segment of the year?
A. There are obvious hurdles that have to be overcome for the year-round utilization of the Summerfest grounds, beginning with weather. However, in our master planning efforts, we are looking at any idea that makes sense that includes looking at longer-term utilization of the grounds -- nothing that I can point specifically to today, but something that we're certainly looking at.
Q.There were suggestions posted by readers yesterday, maybe putting hotels on the property, more business, perhaps a sit-down restaurant. What are your thoughts on those ideas?
A. As the board has talked with Don (Smiley, CEO and President of Milwaukee World Festival Inc.) about how can we maximize the utilization of this gem of a property that Summerfest leases on Milwaukee's lakefront, we have begun a master planning process that will look to ultimately, hopefully, further development, particularly on the south end to improve what we have in place already. One noticeable change that people who visit the festival will see immediately is the new Harley-Davidson stage: cutting edge, high-tech, consumer-friendly, that will make the pleasure that much greater of watching acts at Harley.
Original Source : http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-wi-summerfest,0,296716.story
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