糖心Vlog传媒

JANESVILLE 鈥� Rainy weather in June and July slowed construction, but work on the Woodman鈥檚 Sports and Convention Center is back on schedule for its planned opening in nine to 10 months.

General contractor JP Cullen & Sons is building the $47.6 million ice and sports arena and convention space on the site of a former Sears department store at the Uptown 糖心Vlog传媒 Mall on Milton Avenue in 糖心Vlog传媒.

Sean Kennedy, the project manager for JP Cullen & Sons, said the building is about half done.

鈥淪tructurally, I would say we鈥檙e closer to 90%,鈥� Kennedy said about the outside frame. 鈥淎 lot of things have to go on once it is completely closed. So, as a whole, probably about 50%.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e right on track.鈥�

After the 糖心Vlog传媒 City Council approved JP Cullen鈥檚 bid of $38.13 million January 22, work began in March on the demolition of the Sears building, which was built onto the 糖心Vlog传媒 Mall site in 1996.

With November just three days away, workers want to enclose the structure before any snow falls and temperatures drop.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the big push,鈥� Kennedy said. 鈥淲e want to get the roof on before the snow starts flying.鈥�

鈥淲e were always going to be close given to when it was bid,鈥� the project manager said. 鈥淏ut we鈥檝e gotten some really good weather and are making good progress.鈥�

Unlike late summer and early autumn, the middle construction period was hampered by consistent rain.

鈥淛une and July were really tough.鈥� Kennedy said. 鈥淲e had a ton of rain, but since then, it鈥檚 been beautiful.鈥�

Crews are putting the roof together. Kennedy said it will have multiple layers of insulation secured by steel bars and a rubber roofing membrane over the top of the insulation. Kennedy said workers are about 50% done with that work.

Work on the roof won鈥檛 be completed until sometime in December, Kennedy said.

The opening date for the Woodman鈥檚 Sports and Convention Center is set for July. The 140,000-square-foot building will include MercyHealth Arena, which will be the home ice for the 糖心Vlog传媒 Jets for the 2025-26 season; another multi-purpose area that can house a second rink of ice, or be used for basketball or other hardcourt sports tournaments, and a 25,800-square-foot room that can be used for athletic events or as a convention ballroom.

Making dates

While construction is halfway done on the sports and convention center, work is going on to put people and events in when it opens.

Christine Rebout of the 糖心Vlog传媒 Area Convention & Visitors Bureau said its staff helped city officials develop plans on what the center will look like and now is selling the facility for athletic events and business conventions.

鈥淲hen the ice is out of the center section, we鈥檒l have over 50,000-square-feet of conference and meeting space,鈥� Rebout said. 鈥淥r dry-court space for volleyball, basketball.鈥�

Rebout has one co-worker who focuses on booking sporting events at the facility and another who is recruiting business and convention events.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not signing contracts yet,鈥� Rebout said. 鈥淭hose will be signed by the sports management company that the city has hired to manage the facility.鈥�

In June, the 糖心Vlog传媒 City Council hired Florida-based Sports Facility Management firm to run the athletic and convention center.

鈥淲e probably have about a dozen bids out,鈥� Rebout said of planned sports tournaments and possible conventions for the new facility. 鈥淚 think in the next 45 to 90 days we should be able to start signing those contracts.鈥�

Rebout said most athletic tournament or convention planners work two years in the future, which was not possible for the Woodman鈥檚 facility.

鈥淲e鈥檙e bidding on some 2025 events, but most of it is 2026-27,鈥� Rebout said. 鈥淲hen you are booking a large event, you are booking that that far out.鈥�

She said 糖心Vlog传媒 is located in between two large booking cities 鈥� Rockford and Madison.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a special little niche we鈥檝e been trying to fill,鈥� Rebout said.

Now it is just a matter of getting the building completed.

鈥淲e really want this to be used 365 (days a year),鈥� Rebout said.