Competition heats up for Lake County Convention Center
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now-
Rendering of Hobart’s pitch for a Lake County Convention Center. (Graphic provided, City of Hobart)
-
Rendering of Gary’s pitch for a Lake County Convention Center. (Graphic provided, city of Gary)
Two communities in northwest Indiana have submitted competing bids to Lake County Commissioners for development projects to draw in more convention business traffic to the region.
Out partners at The Times of Northwest Indiana report the cities of Gary and Hobart have each submitted plans for massive new convention spaces that call for hundreds of millions of dollars of investment through public-private partnerships.
The proposals now before the commissioners come at a time where there is a vacuum in the market for convention space due to the Radisson in Merrillville closing in 2017. The Indiana General Assembly last year approved up to $5 million in matching funds for whichever project is chosen.
Gary has teamed up with Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, and its pitch calls for a expansion of the Hard Rock campus near Interstate 80/94. The city’s pitch is a 145,000-square-foot, steel-framed convention center with outdoor event spaces. The center would go right next to a new $260 million Hard Rock Hotel, and plans call for two additional hotels to go up across the street.
All told, the three proposed hotels would add 700 rooms, along with other entertainment and dining space, according to the publication. Hard Rock Casino would manage the convention center, which Gary officials say reduces operating expenses.
Meanwhile, Hobart is proposing a 150,000-square-foot center that would be less than 30 minutes away from the Gary site. Hobart wants to put the center near the intersection of U.S. 30 and Mississippi Street, near Interstate 65 on a site called Patriot Park.
Proposed developments in Hobart’s pitch include a 250-room hotel and restaurant as well as additional mixed-use buildings for multi-family housing, sports facilities and other amenities. Hobart says its plan calls for $525 million in capital investment along a 215-acre site.
A study published earlier this year by the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority found Patriot Park and the Hard Rock Casino ranked first and second, respectively, as the best sites in northwest Indiana for such a convention center.
Lake County Commissioners are expected to decide on one of the plans at some point before June 1 of next year. The county has until Jan. 1, 2028 to begin work on the project.