Bloomington Chamber of Commerce
  • Membership
    • Business Directory
    • Become a Member
    • Benefits of Membership >
      • Interested in Membership
    • Levels of Membership
    • Member Portal & Materials >
      • Member Login
    • Chamber App
    • Connect Bloomington
    • Member Resources
  • Events & News
    • Signature Events >
      • Educator of the Year Nominations
      • WEB Nominations
      • Showcase Bloomington Exhibitor Page
    • Chamber Events Calendar
    • Sponsorship
    • Member News
    • Multimedia Gallery
    • Chamber News
  • Initiatives & Resources
    • Bloomington Women in Leadership
    • The Success School
    • Young Professionals Bloomington >
      • YPB Steering Committee
    • Business Resources
    • Job Board
    • Community Calendar
  • Advocacy
    • Advocacy Matters Updates
    • Legislative Agenda
    • Local Government
    • Advocacy Resources
  • About Us
    • Contact Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Press & Media
Member Login | Join Us!
Member Login | Join Us!

Chamber News
Press Releases & News Updates

Convention Center expansion picking up steam

4/11/2025

0 Comments

 
NOTE: This news article featuring Senior Director of Government & Community Relations, Christopher Emge, was originally published by Indiana Public Media, WFIU on Noon Edition by Patrick Beane on Friday, April 11th, 2025.
Picture
(Schmidt Associates, Convergence Design)
Trees have been cut down, parking barriers installed, and plans are underway for construction to begin in June on the expansion of the convention center in downtown Bloomington.

Even the name has changed, from the Monroe Convention Center to the Bloomington Convention Center.

It’s taken almost a decade to get the expansion project to this point. The plan includes a 61,000-square foot building across College Avenue from the current convention center, along with renovations to the current building.

That includes a full-service kitchen that could serve close to 2,000 people, a bus pull-off with Third Street corridor alignment, a loading dock ramp, relocation of utilities, and a climate-friendly green roof.

Read More
0 Comments

Construction to begin on convention center expansion after City Council greenlight

3/10/2025

0 Comments

 
NOTE: This news article featuring President & CEO, Eric Spoonmore, was originally published by IDS - Gabby Rogers on Friday, March 7th, 2025.
Picture
The council chambers are pictured Sept. 4, 2024, in City Hall in Bloomington. The city council approved construction to begin on the Monroe County Convention Center expansion at a meeting Wednesday. Photo by Molly Gregory / The Indiana Daily Student
A round of applause filled the council chambers after Bloomington City Council unanimously passed the critical step in the years-long Monroe County Convention Center expansion project.  
​

The council greenlighted $46,825,000 in lease rental revenue bonds to renovate the center. ​

Read More
0 Comments

The city of Bloomington looking to expand the convention center, but some in the community don’t agree

10/9/2024

0 Comments

 
NOTE: This news article featuring the President & CEO, Eric Spoonmore, was originally published by WRTV on Wednesday, October 8th, 2024.
Read News Article Here
0 Comments

Board maintains momentum for Monroe Convention Center expansion, but interlocal accord still unsigned

1/18/2024

0 Comments

 
NOTE: This article that features The Chamber's President & CEO, Eric Spoonmore, was published on January 18, 2024 in the B Square Bulletin by Dave Askins. Photos are provided by B Square Bulletin.
Picture
At its Wednesday afternoon meeting, Monroe County’s capital improvement board of managers (CIB) took the actions recommended by a three-member committee for moving ahead with the Monroe Convention Center expansion project.
​
One step was to authorize the issuance of an RFQ (request for qualifications) for a “construction manager as contractor” for the project. Interested firms will have three weeks to respond to the RFQ. The idea is for the three-member committee to winnow the respondents to a short-list by the next meeting of the CIB, which is now set for Feb. 14 at 3 p.m.

The full board won’t be picking from the short list at that meeting, but could ratify the committee’s shortlisters.

Also approved by the CIB at Wednesday’s meeting was the issuance of an RFQ for an owner’s representative. The idea is that none of the CIB members will have sufficient time to staff the project, and that role should be assigned to an owner’s rep.

Read More
0 Comments

PRESS RELEASE: Chamber Celebrates Formation of Capital Improvement Board

7/5/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Eric Spoonmore spoke today in favor of the Monroe County Commissioners’ historic vote to establish a Capital Improvement Board (CIB) to facilitate and manage the long-awaited Monroe Convention Center expansion project.   

“The Chamber is 100% in support of forming the Capital Improvement Board,” Spoonmore said prior to the vote. “We thank the county commissioners for their leadership. This CIB is a momentous step toward achieving substantive progress on this important project in our community,” he continued.

The newly formed CIB will be composed of seven appointed members. Two appointments will be made by the mayor of Bloomington, two appointments will be made by the county commissioners, one appointment will be made by the county council, and one appointment will be made by the Bloomington city council. Those six appointees will vote to select the seventh member of the CIB. 


Read More
0 Comments

Capital board as governance for Monroe Convention Center expansion to be on July 5 county agenda

7/5/2023

0 Comments

 
NOTE: This article that features The Chamber's President & CEO, Eric Spoonmore, was published on June 28, 2023 in the B Square Bulletin by Dave Askins. Photos are provided by B Square Bulletin.
PictureMonroe County commissioners, from left: Lee Jones, Penny Githens, and Julie Thomas. (June 28, 2023)
The long-planned expansion of the Monroe Convention Center, which has been stalled since March 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, could take a small step forward next week.

At their regular meeting next Wednesday (July 5), Monroe County commissioners are likely to consider and approve an ordinance that will establish a seven-member capital improvement board (CIB) to provide the governance structure for the expansion. [2023-06-28 draft ordinance]

Expectations about next week’s action are based on the discussion at a Wednesday work session, which was held by commissioners following their regular meeting.

The previous night, at a county council work session, attended by commissioner Penny Githens, the council passed a motion made by councilor Geoff McKim, which supported the path that the commissioners are now taking.


Read More
0 Comments

It's Your Business: Capital Improvement Board a proven model in Indiana

1/2/2023

0 Comments

 
NOTE: This "It's Your Business" column by Chamber CEO Eric Spoonmore was published in the December 30, 2022 Bloomington Herald-Times.
Picture
The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce continues to support the expansion of the Monroe Convention Center. The expansion will be paid for by revenue from the 1% food and beverage tax that was passed in 2017 by the Monroe County Council. Disappointingly, there has been no tangible progress on the expansion despite nearly $15 million in food and beverage tax revenue collected over the past five years.    

​However, a glimmer of hope came in November when meaningful steps were taken by county government to move forward with expansion plans. All three county commissioners unanimously agreed to create a Capital Improvement Board (CIB) that would give the city of Bloomington equal representation on the CIB. In the following weeks, all seven county council representatives unanimously supported the county commissioners’ CIB plan. Two weeks later, a supermajority of city council members voted 8-1 to support the plan for a CIB. For the first time in six years, strong momentum was building for the long-awaited convention center expansion project. Elected officials across the city and county were working together to achieve progress on this shared community goal.  


Read More
0 Comments

PRESS RELEASE: Chamber Backs CIB plan for Convention Center Expansion

12/9/2022

0 Comments

 
PictureChamber President & CEO, Eric Spoonmore
Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Eric Spoonmore announced today that the Chamber is backing a plan that involves a newly created Capital Improvement Board (CIB) to manage the Monroe Convention Center expansion project. The Chamber urges elected leaders to swiftly accept the proposal and appoint members to serve on the CIB as soon as possible.  

“The Chamber closely examined the various governance proposals submitted by City and County leaders, and we agree that the community’s interest is best served by a CIB that will oversee the expansion and related construction activities of the convention center,” said Spoonmore.

Over the past year, the Chamber along with other local economic development organizations has urged elected leaders to take quick action on the expansion plans to avoid a sunset of the Monroe County Food & Beverage Tax funding mechanism by the State Legislature in its upcoming 2023 session. 

“Time is truly of the essence to get this done. We hope all parties can agree to the CIB governance plan as it stands. Taxpayers have been paying the Food and Beverage tax for five years with no tangible results. It is time to deliver on the promise of an expanded, world-class convention center here in Bloomington,” said Spoonmore.     
​
County Commissioners took a step forward on the expansion plans by enacting a CIB in November. The CIB is fully accountable to the public and established in accordance with state statute. The County Council unanimously favors the CIB plan, but it requires City leaders to agree by January 1, 2023. The City Council is expected to discuss the CIB proposal at its next meeting on December 14.   

Download Press Release
0 Comments

Struggle over the Monroe Convention Center continues

9/9/2022

0 Comments

 
NOTE: This Noon Edition interview with Chamber CEO Eric Spoonmore was published in the September 9, 2022 WFIU Noon Edition by Nathan Moore.
Picture
(Devan Ridgway, WTIU/WFIU News)
Listen to the Interview Here
Discussions between city and county officials over the Monroe Convention Center’s expansion and ownership continue. Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton’s administration offered to buy the convention center for $4 million to accelerate its expansion. The expansion is expected to cost tens of millions to complete.

The purpose of this expansion is to host larger events, increasing tourism dollars and boosting the local economy.  

The goal for the city administration and local businesses leaders is to get a deal done by the end of the month, but some county officials say they don’t support the city’s plan. 

A main funding source for the center is a 1% food and beverage tax that has collected more than $14 million. That tax could be threatened in the next legislative session. ​

Read More
0 Comments

Potential convention center deal: City, county leaders meet, agree to meet again

9/1/2022

0 Comments

 
NOTE: This article that highlights President & CEO, Eric Spoonmore's, involvement was published in the August 31, 2022 B Square Bulletin by Dave Askins. Photos are gathered from the article as well.
PictureConvention center work session at county courthouse. (Photo by: B Square Bulletin)
On Wednesday at noon, the possible expansion of the county convention center was the topic of a meeting of Monroe County and Bloomington officials.

The gathering at the county courthouse included county commissioners, some county councilors, city councilmembers and the mayor’s office.

It was the first time that representatives from all four groups had sat at the same table on that topic since early March of 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

After about 45 minutes of conversation, the group had not made much progress, but agreed it was worth another meeting.

The city wants to get a deal done by the end of September. So “sooner rather than later” was the city’s wish for a next scheduled meeting.

One twist that emerged on Wednesday was the possibility that a convention center deal between the city and the county could hinge on Bloomington’s approval of a rezone for land that the county wants to use for construction of a new jail.


Read More
0 Comments
<<Previous
    Picture

    Chamber News

    This blog contains press releases, other news updates from the Chamber, news articles and radio interviews featuring interviews with the Chamber and team members,  and much more!

    All press releases have been sent out to community organizations and news agencies. Downloadable version of these press releases are available at the end of each blog post.

    ​
    For media inquires, please contact Director of Communications & Events, Kaytee Lorentzen.

    ​Categories

    Categories

    All
    Advocacy Matters
    Annual Meeting & Community Awards
    Appointments And Staff Updates
    Best Places To Work
    Bloomington Women In Leadership
    Board Of Directors
    Business After Hours
    Business Outlook
    Chamber Insider Update
    Chamber In The News
    Community Conversations
    Connect Bloomington
    Convention Center
    Diversity Equity And Inclusion (DEI)
    Educator Of The Year
    Elect Connect
    Equity
    Event
    Federal Focus
    Futurecast
    Glass In The Afternoon
    Golf Scramble
    Guest Column
    Health & Business
    Hometown Hero
    Honors & Awards
    ICEA
    It's Your Business
    Legislative Preview
    Local Government
    News Articles
    Partnership
    Podcast Interviews
    PPE
    Press Release
    PrimeTime Business Expo
    Public Transit
    Radio Interviews
    Showcase Bloomington
    SMART Business Summit
    Success School
    Ten Under 40
    Valor Awards
    Video
    Women Excel Bloomington
    Young Professionals Bloomington

    Archives

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020

    RSS Feed

    Sign Up For News
Contact Our Team | Business Directory

Our Chamber

​The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce provides leadership through member engagement, business advocacy and civic partnerships to strengthen our community and business environment.

Main Contact

421 W 6th Street, Suite A | Bloomington, IN 47404
[email protected]
(812) 336-6381

Office Hours:
Monday-Thursday: 9:00am - 500:pm
Friday: 9:00am - 3:00pm
Trust Center
​
Media Center
Speaking Requests

There is a no refund policy for events.  If you need to reassign your ticket to another person we will be happy to update our attendance list. Thank you.

Chamber Info

About Us
Board of Directors
Contact Our Team

Chamber Resources

Business Directory
Chamber Events Calendar
Member News
Chamber News
Membership Application
Member Login
Business Resources
Picture
Copyright The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. All Rights Reserved.
  • Membership
    • Business Directory
    • Become a Member
    • Benefits of Membership >
      • Interested in Membership
    • Levels of Membership
    • Member Portal & Materials >
      • Member Login
    • Chamber App
    • Connect Bloomington
    • Member Resources
  • Events & News
    • Signature Events >
      • Educator of the Year Nominations
      • WEB Nominations
      • Showcase Bloomington Exhibitor Page
    • Chamber Events Calendar
    • Sponsorship
    • Member News
    • Multimedia Gallery
    • Chamber News
  • Initiatives & Resources
    • Bloomington Women in Leadership
    • The Success School
    • Young Professionals Bloomington >
      • YPB Steering Committee
    • Business Resources
    • Job Board
    • Community Calendar
  • Advocacy
    • Advocacy Matters Updates
    • Legislative Agenda
    • Local Government
    • Advocacy Resources
  • About Us
    • Contact Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Press & Media