MEDIA ALERT: What’s New in Milwaukee in 2018

Milwaukee, WI, Nov. 28, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

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

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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