Work on the first phase of improvements planned for the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame‘s Walk of Fame in downtown Milwaukee will begin soon and could be completed in time for the Republican National Convention on July 15-18.

“That continues to be our goal, to have everything in place by then,” said Brian Lammi, owner and board chairman of the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame. “We’re very excited about the design.” Milwaukee-based Rinka is the design firm for the project.

The Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame plans to spend more than $1 million on improvements to its walkway, which is located along the west side of Vel R. Phillips Avenue between West State Street and West Kilbourn Avenue in downtown Milwaukee.

First announced last year, the initial phase of improvements to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame’s Walk of Fame will include a 160-square-foot video screen attached to the southeast corner of the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, at the south end of the walkway. The video screen will show highlights of the careers of hall of famers and clips from the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame induction banquet and golf outing.

“As people are walking by or driving by they should get a good view of the 74-year-old history of the Hall of Fame,” Lammi said.

The video screen will also provide an opportunity for sponsorship messages and for messages from fans.

“It will be an interactive way for fans to participate with the Hall of Fame,” Lammi said. “We plan to open it up for fans to do things like a birthday message or celebrate their favorite youth sports team. There will be ways that fans can participate as those video boards can change throughout the year.”

The initial phase of the walkway improvement project will also include the addition of eight double-sided backlit boards that will show images of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame inductees and will be placed on top of columns lining the walkway. The signs will be created by De Pere-based Jones Sign.

The Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame also plans to host numerous events to make use of and draw attention to the walkway.

“Our goal is to start featuring press conferences, maybe do some basketball shootouts or putting contests or other ways that people can experience and be a part of the walkway and really trying to drive consistent traffic for that walkway,” Lammi said.

Ideas for additional improvements to the walkway are still being discussed but could include interactive touch screens to engage fans and help tell the stories of the hall of fame inductees, Lammi said.

Founded in 1951, the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame stopped adding bronze plaques for inductees a few years ago because space was running low to display them, they are extremely heavy (weighing 250 to 400 pounds each), some have been degraded by years and the elements, and today’s fans prefer to engage with modern forms of media, Lammi said.

“We felt more interactive, interview-focused videos or backlit images on stationary boards would be a better way to celebrate inductees moving forward,” Lammi said. “We just don’t think continuing to place these bronze plaques, which people aren’t necessarily paying a lot of attention to, was the best way to tell the story for these inductees.”

Menasha-based insurance company Network Health has become the presenting sponsor for the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame walkway, and the Hall of Fame’s golf outing. Milwaukee-based Zizzo Group is also a sponsor. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available, Lammi said.

“We’ve got a wide range of opportunities for organizations to share their stories and messages with the community,” he said.