Milwaukee’s Miller High Life Theatre Faces Demolition for $500M Hotel
By Christopher Hayden
One of Milwaukee’s most historic venues is at risk of being shut down.
Currently, there is a debate over whether the Miller High Life Theatre should be demolished for a $500 million taxpayer-subsidized hotel to take its place. In July of 2025, a study of the Wisconsin Center District’s properties was conducted by consulting firm Hunden Partners following the 2024 $456 million Baird Center expansion.
According to WCD president Marty Brooks, this was done to collect information to decide how to best utilize the properties. In January, the study’s results revealed that numerous potential Baird Center events never happened because of little room and hotel availability. The firm recommended building a 650-room hotel to accommodate substantial convention traffic.
“If you book bigger conventions, you’ll have more demand for hotels,” said District 4 Alderman and Milwaukee Common Council member Robert Bauman when asked about how the whole situation came to be. “It’s kind of a chicken and egg thing.”
While the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena is seen as a long-term Milwaukee asset for now, the Miller High Life Theatre’s market is potentially threatened by the new Landmark Credit Union Live venue. As one would expect, Pabst Theater Group CEO Gary Witt denied this and is against shutting down the Miller High Life Theatre. According to Witt, tearing down the Miller High Life Theatre because of the new venue is foolish and would make Milwaukee the only major Midwest city without a 4,000-seat theater.
When discussing how the current situation started, Witt stated that Brooks told him that the study would aim to preserve the Miller High Life Theatre before it was even announced and conducted. Allegedly, Brooks stated that UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena was going to be taken down instead because it was not profitable and the WCD could afford the debt. Brooks has since denied these claims.
On Nov. 25, 2025, the Council approved a permanent historic designation to the Miller High Life Theatre and UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. Because of this, permission from the Historic Preservation Commission will be needed for demolition. Brooks stated that this would make it harder to change either venue.
Alderman Bauman stated that he drafted the historic designation proposal to give the public a say in the venues’ futures. In his opinion, it allows for a public and transparent process that does not leave decisions in one entity’s hands.
Furthermore, Witt emphasized the importance of physical spaces in Milwaukee for people to connect. In Witt’s opinion, people nowadays are more focused on being engrossed in their phones and not having a lot of human connection. Because of this, live entertainment is essential and beneficial to the general audience by fostering genuine human connection.
On Feb. 4, Witt sent emails to all Pabst Theater Group eMembers requesting replies that voiced opposition to the potential demolition. This resulted in Witt presenting a 1,100-page binder full of the responses to WCD board members in a Mar. 12 meeting.
“I think raising awareness for a problem is 50% of the solution,” said Witt when asked about what happened during the meeting. “Nothing good happens behind closed doors.”
Even though Witt did not give a lot of specific details about what happened during the meeting, dropping the 22-pound binder onto the board members’ desks made the intended impression. As of now, no decision has been made regarding the future of either venue. According to Alderman Bauman, even though that could change by the end of the year, the execution of that decision could take 5 to 6 years.
Christopher Hayden is the local news reporter for Bridge the City. You can connect with Christopher here.
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