Larry Bird Museum opening now likely late '23

Oct. 27—Workers on Wednesday began installing protective UV film on the inside of the Larry Bird Museum, still under construction at the Terre Haute Convention Center.

The museum will now not likely open until November or December 2023, said Terri Conley, a member of the Vigo County Capital Improvement Board who chairs the board's museum committee.

The museum's opening had previously been pushed back to October, from early spring 2023.

Delays include a remaining installation of Unistrut metal framing, which is used to move movable vertical partitions or suspended items on display, plus busways, which are prefabricated electrical systems to move the framing.

"With some of the delays that we had with the bus run and Unistrut, until we send out bids for [display case] fabrication and installation, it is hard to pinpoint a date at this time," Conley said of an opening.

"Our goal is to send out an RFP [request for proposals] if not by the end of the year, then early next year" for construction of museum display cases," she said. "It will take fabricators and installers around nine months [to complete]. The project is still moving along, and the design is pretty much done."

Bird memorabilia consultant Shelly Keen said some items, such as trophies, are to be cleaned and restored prior to display.

"It is normal wear and tear ... just tarnishing and a couple little nicks here and there, stuff that needs to be restored to where it once was," Keen told the board.

"We are talking about trophies and such and we are looking at getting those items cleaned up, repaired and restored to get those items back into the condition they originally were and ready for display," Keen said.

The 2,720 square-foot space for the museum includes high ceilings allowing for vertical exhibition. The project has a budget of $1.5 million.

Sports complex

In other business, Vittoria Meyer with RJL Solutions said request for quotes for a feasibility study for a proposed sports complex are due by 4 p.m. Oct. 31.

The CIB's special projects committee will then review submitted proposals. The committee is slated to meet Nov. 17 and Nov. 18 to interview the final top three proposals for the study.

"Those interviews will be basically a 45-minute presentation from a firm, then additional 45 minutes for the committee to ask questions and have conversation," Meyer said. The goal is to present a recommendation to the board during a November meeting.

The proposed complex, as currently envisioned, would include a small stadium and eight baseball fields, an aquatic center and indoor sports facilities that would accommodate basketball, volleyball and indoor soccer fields.

It likely would be on the east side of Terre Haute.

The study is being funded by a $50,000 grant from the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) program. A further READI grant would contribute to the creation of the complex if the feasibility study offers a positive assessment.

CIB finances

In other matters, Jason Semler with Baker Tilly, which oversees accounting for the CIB, said the CIB has more than a $3.2 million cash balance as of this week. The CIB received $230,683 for October from food and beverage tax. "For the first 10 months on the year, you have collected a little over $2.523 million, which is about a 12% increase over the first 10 months of last year," Semler said of food and beverage tax collections.

The convention center hosted 16 events in September, generating gross revenue of $86,887, plus parking revenue of $2,126, said Tennille Wanner, OVG 360's general manager of the Terre Haute Convention Center. OVG 360 is contracted to manage the facility for the Vigo County Capital Improvement Board.

The convention center currently has $788,305 of business "in its funnel" through 2024, Wanner said.

Howard Greninger can be reached at 812-231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com. Follow on Twitter @TribStarHoward.