Convention centers and their viability were big news in three Midwestern cities this spring.
Omaha, Nebraska, officials have been celebrating a milestone in their $200 million convention center expansion project: the topping out of the refurbished CHI Health Center. Half the funding for the downtown center, expected to open in fall 2027, is coming from voter-approved general obligation bonds, while the other half is from private funding.
Within a year or two after Omaha passed its bond issue, campaigns were underway to persuade residents of Wichita and Springfield, Missouri, to vote for taxes that would fund renovations and expansions to their convention centers…