The Marcus Corporation (ticker: MCS, exchange: New York Stock Exchange) News Release - 6/8/2001 Marcus hotel helps Monona Center attract events --Friday, June 8, 2001-- In just over three months since The Marcus Corp. opened its convention hotel in downtown Madison, the 14-story Hilton Madison Monona Terrace is helping the city lure conventions. The 240-room Hilton, which is connected to the Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center by an enclosed skywalk, opened at the end of February to serve convention-goers. So far it's been crucial in attracting conventions from all over the country, said Toni Kraft, vice president of convention and trade show sales for the Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau. "The Hilton as been a tremendous boost for the community," said Deb Archer, president of the Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau. "It has been a very instrumental sales tool for us booking business." The 100,000-square-foot Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center opened in July 1997, bringing to life a design concept created by Frank Lloyd Wright. Despite its renowned architecture and prime location on the shore of Lake Monona, the convention center staff couldn't pursue dozens of events because it lacked an attached hotel. Madison officials said the center missed out on some 50 bookings between the time it opened and when the hotel was finished. That's because even though there are 7,000 hotel rooms in the greater Madison area, many associations will only book an event at a convention center if there is attached lodging, Kraft said. Two examples of high-profile conventions that wouldn't have been possible a year ago: a. The U.S. Conference of Mayors is scheduled for 2002, which will bring 2,000 people and national attention to Madison. b. The National Ironman Competition, which will include biking, swimming and running courses in Madison in 2002. After the Madison Common Council selected Marcus Hotels & Resorts, Milwaukee, to develop the hotel in 1998, convention planners started to look more seriously at booking events at the Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center, Kraft said. Construction of the $29 million project was financed mainly by Marcus with the balance from a tax incremental financing district established by the city of Madison. The property is now considered the "headquarters hotel" for the Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center, said Bill Otto, president of Marcus Hotels & Resorts. Marcus Hotels & Resorts estimates the Hilton's economic impact on Madison at $18 million through 2005, Otto said. Hilton Madison Monona Terrace is the ninth, and latest, hotel Marcus has added to its portfolio since 1993. The company also operates or franchises 178 Baymont Inns & Suites in 30 states; two luxury Milwaukee hotels, the Hilton Milwaukee City Center and The Pfister Hotel; and seven Woodfield Suites in Illinois, Wisconsin, Colorado, Ohio and Texas. Madison officials began looking for a team to develop a convention center hotel in 1996, as the Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center was nearing completion. A year later, the city narrowed its search to five developers that included Marcus. In 1998, the search ended with the selection of Marcus. The Madison Common Council liked the company's hotel plans best because it would be built next to the convention center with a connected walkway, and it would have a 193-space underground parking garage. The hotel is geared for business users, with four meeting rooms totaling 2,400 square feet, an auditorium and a ballroom. Each of its 240 guest rooms, including 42 suites, has high-speed Internet access and multiple-line phones. The hotel also an indoor swimming pool, fitness center and rooms with views of Lake Monona and the state Capitol. Those views can be appreciated by business travelers and leisure travelers alike, said John Archibald, general manager of the hotel. Hilton Madison Monona Terrace also has an upscale American restaurant called 9 East, located in the former chancery building of the Catholic Diocese of Madison, said Archibald, a Scottish native who moved from Los Angeles to Madison a year ago to manage the hotel. Marcus purchased the historic religious building and integrated it into the otherwise modern-looking hotel, Otto said. So far 9 East has attracted a mix of hotel guests and community residents. Otto said he's encouraged by the brisk activity in the hotel since it opened. Before the Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center opened, the only main venue for large conventions in Madison was the Alliant Energy Center, formerly the Dane County Expo Center on Madison's south side. The management of the 100,000-square-foot Alliant Center sees the new Hilton Madison Monona Terrace as complementing the older facility, said Ted Ballweg, Alliant Energy Center's assistant manager for sales and marketing. "Even though the Monona Terrace is connected to the Hilton, we see it as a very important part of our facility," he said. "When there's more hotel rooms in the city, we can get a lot of the larger conventions that wouldn't have considered Madison before." The Alliant Center is now connected to a convention hotel of its own. The new headquarters hotel there is a 110-room Hawthorn Suites that opened June 2. The second phase of construction will add 140 rooms by next year, Ballweg said. Hawthorn Suites was developed and is managed by The Great Lakes Cos. Inc. of Madison. Marcus Hotels and Resorts is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Marcus Corporation (NYSE: MCS). Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., The Marcus Corporation is comprised of four divisions: limited-service lodging, hotels/resorts, movie theatres and restaurants. For more information visit the company's website at www.marcuscorp.com.