Contractor previews next phase of Brown County Arena demolition
ASHWAUBENON (WLUK) -- The next phase of demolition of the Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena is set to begin.
Since the final events were held at the 61-year-old arena in April, crews have been removing items and demolishing interior structures.
"Ah, it's pretty sad. There's a lot of history in there," said Richard Schlough of Green Bay.
He came out Tuesday afternoon to watch the building demolition. Schlough also reminisced on some of the good times he's had inside.
"I was working for the Bobcats... the Gamblers and the hockey team that came through here," he said.
Schlough was among a small crowd that came to watch the arena come down.
Construction will continue over the next several days. One step includes removing what's inside the arena. Then crews removed the outside of the building.
"Once the facade is taken off, around the perimeter, the contractor will start to remove the columns and the roof will start to slowly come down," said Kurt Wolfgram.
Some of the metal from the building will be recycled. A plan is underway to reuse concrete from the building.
"It'll get crushed to a smaller stone size and we'll actually use that for base on the site here underneath the concrete slabs and parking lots," Wolfgram said.
A new $93 million facility is planned to replace the arena and Shopko Hall, which was connected to the arena. During construction of the new building, events which have been traditionally held at the arena and Shopko Hall will have to find alternate venues.
Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach says it's sad to see the arena go, he's looking toward the future and what the new expo hall will bring to the area.
"That will attract businesses to the region. When I look at the region, I'm not just talking about the state of Wisconsin but what we look to do in the Minneapolis market, the Chicago market, and the Detroit market. To be able to attract that to this area and have roughly a $13 million impact," said Troy Streckenbach.
The construction project executive says it'll probably take about a week and a half until the arena's roof is on the ground.
