Sept. 2, 2025 12:30p
(WGTD)---The company that manages and books events at Memorial Hall and Festival Hall for the City of Racine will be doing the same for the City of Kenosha at the historic Southport Beach House.
The Kenosha Plan Commission approved a contract with 5Kevents last week. Although the vote was unanimous, several members of the Southport Park Association raised some questions over just how much control 5K will have over the facility.
5Kevents owner Patrick Flynn told the commissioners it’s his intent to treat the facility as a community center. An open house is expected to be held soon after the company’s contract goes into effect later this month.
Mayor Dave Bogdala said he’s excited for 5K to step in, but that it’ll be a growing process and that adjustments to the contract will undoubtedly have to be made.
The Southport Beach House was built for the city during the Great Depression by the Works Progress Administration. T
The city recently finished up a $2 million renovation project.
The expenditure is just one part of the park’s city-approved master plan that includes the installation of a prairie garden that’ll cover over a-third of the lakeshore park’s 29 acres.
The Southport Park Association is in the process of raising money to cover part of the cost. Representatives of the Park Association outlined the plans on last Saturday’s Community Matters program on WGTD.
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