It’s official. The Lake County Board of Commissioners selected Gary as the site for the new Lake County Convention Center.
The commissioners announced the decision Wednesday morning to a packed room and were met with rousing applause from an audience that included Gary residents and city officials. What began as proposals for 14 sites across the county was narrowed to five in March 2024 and ultimately down to two finalists: Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana in Gary and Patriot Park in Hobart.
“This was not an easy decision,” Lake County Commissioner Jerry Tippy said.
The push for a county convention center began in the Indiana Senate in 2023 when lawmakers introduced Senate Bill 434. Mayor Eddie Melton, a state senator at the time, was the principal author of that bill.
That legislation established the Lake County Economic Development and Convention Fund, authorizing resources for a county convention center and opening the door for site proposals to the Board of Commissioners.
In 2018, the Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville, located just off U.S. 30, closed and was demolished, leaving Northwest Indiana without a venue for large conventions and shows.
Last year, Gary joined forces with Hard Rock Casino to propose a 145,000-square-foot convention center with 73,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space, including a 40,000-square-foot exhibit hall and an 18,000-square-foot foot ballroom. The plan includes adding a Hard Rock Hotel, which is estimated to have 300 rooms.
The prospect of Gary landing the county convention center has sparked excitement and widespread interest among local officials and residents alike. In March, hundreds of residents from Gary and across Lake County packed St. Timothy Church in the Tolleston neighborhood to hear Mayor Eddie Melton unveil details of Gary’s convention center proposal. In the weeks that followed, the city and Hard Rock Casino rolled out a series of commercials highlighting the bid’s projected economic boost and showcasing renderings of the new facility.
“This is a historic and monumental day for Gary and all of Lake County,” Melton said in a statement after the announcement. “Our vision has always been about creating strong economic opportunities for our community. I thank the Lake County Commissioners for recognizing Gary’s tremendous potential and embracing a future where our entire region thrives together.”
“This project will be transformational,” said Kyle Allen, a Lake County commissioner and former Gary City Council member. “This is a group effort — state, county and the city — and we might be separate, but we are definitely interconnected.”
Allen, who called this project a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity, said, “I wish my city, Hard Rock, Godspeed, and I cannot reiterate it enough – execute, because if we can do this, I believe that there will be more opportunities like this down the road.”
County Commissioner Mike Repay acknowledged past frustrations but emphasized unity: “I think oftentimes citizens of Lake County feel like they’re less than citizens of the state of Indiana. … Citizens of Gary are citizens of Lake County, and this is not a project for or against any particular group. This is for Lake County and for the benefit of all of us.”
Earlier this year, Gary’s bid came under legislative fire from the Hammond City Council and its mayor, Tom McDermott, who attributed $13 million in losses to Gary’s casino, which opened in 2022.
Lake County Councilman Ron Brewer called the choice of the Hard Rock Casino/Gary site a big win for the city, a big win for Lake County, and a big win for the state of Indiana.
“To see something of this magnitude being built on the north side of Indiana is huge,” Brewer said. “I don’t think it is just a win for Gary. With the construction and all the trades involved, every community throughout the region is going to be touched.”
Hard Rock’s vice president of marketing, Joe Branchik, praised the collaboration.
“We’re super excited. This has been a long process, but we’re honored to be selected,” Branchik said.