Construction to begin on convention center expansion after City Council greenlight

NOTE: This news article featuring President & CEO, Eric Spoonmore, was originally published by IDS - Gabby Rogers on Friday, March 7th, 2025.

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

Councilmembers Matt Flaherty, Kate Rosenbarger and Andy Ruff were not present for the vote. 

Bloomington business owners, organizations and local government officials gathered at Wednesday’s meeting to express their support for the resolution. 

According to The Capital Improvement Board website, CIB is a group of volunteers appointed by Monroe County and the City of Bloomington to renovate and expand the Monroe County Convention Center. 

Eric Spoonmore, who served on CIB until January of this year, was the first supporter of the resolution to speak to the council. 

“This project is some of the lowest hanging fruit that we have here in Bloomington,” Spoonmore said. “It's an easy way that we can diversify our revenue streams and counteract some of the impact that we know these looming cuts are going to have.” 

Spoonmore said the economic development will pay great dividends back to the city at a critical time when conventional revenue streams are being put at risk by the general assembly. 

Every public comment made at the meeting was in favor of the resolution, except one. 

Wes Martin, Monroe County Democratic Party Deputy Chair for Labor, spoke to the city council over zoom and requested to table the vote. 

“I'm deeply disappointed in the way our brothers and sisters in labor have been treated by the CIB,” Martin said. “The CIB has repeatedly dismissed labor’s concerns over the lack of commitments and the use of organized union labor in the building of this project. We have not been heard.” 

Martin stated that county labor groups had repeatedly asked for a project agreement and had not been acknowledged or received a response for bid or ordinance. 

Council member Dave Rollo requested that John Whikeheart, president of the CIB, address Martin’s comment. 
According to Whikeheart, the CIB met in October of last year with a number of representatives of organized labor groups who were proponents of a project labor agreement.  

“I was never contacted again after October by anyone about how we were going to move forward with this,” Whikeheart said. 

Aware of an agreement Marion County’s CIB made that showed preferential treatment towards contractors with organized labor, the Monroe County CIB intended to do the same. They said they wanted to use pre-qualification requirements that would make it easier for organized labor contractors to make a bid.  

“Those elements would require non-union contractors to meet every one of those six qualification elements in order to be a successful bidder,” Whikeheart said. “The seventh element is that, if you were a contractor with an organized labor agreement, those other elements are waived.” 

The CIB said they notified the labor representatives on Feb. 18 they would be adopting the resolution that Marion County used at the CIB meeting the next day.  

“Members of organized labor came to our meeting on Feb. 19,” Whikeheart said. "I met with them and talked to them prior to the meeting and told them what we intended to do. They made no comment to me one way or another.” 

Other than the contention surrounding labor bids, the majority of public commenters were in favor of the resolution to pass. 

Uptown Cafe owner- Galen Cassady discussed the benefits the convention center will provide to local businesses. Several representatives of Bloomington businesses came forward to show their support for the convention center. 

"As downtown business owners, what we are looking forward to is this generating some movement for the local economy in some of our troubling areas -- Monday to Thursday, non-weekend hours, and the summers,” Cassady said. “You'll hear from all sorts of business owners that we brace for the summer. A project like this is a great opportunity to provide more during the summer, during the weekdays." 

Mayor Kerry Thomson offered her backing of the resolution as the public comments came to a close. 

“It is becoming critical to Bloomington to attract the very best tourism,” Thomson said. "The support of the convention center is key to our downtown vitality.” 
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The 6-0 vote greenlighted the expansion, and construction may start as early as June. The expected completion is February 2027. ​
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