Epic Wants To Build Large Auditorium In Verona

Health care software giant Epic Systems Corp. is proposing building a large auditorium on its Verona campus for its annual user group meeting.

The annual user group meeting attracts thousands to Epic, which is based in Verona, from all over the country. Instead of trying to find space to hold a meeting for more than 10,000 people, or bringing in tents like it has done in the past, Epic said it wants to build.

The company is proposing a 13,000-seat auditorium on its Verona campus. Capacity wise, it would be the third largest in Dane County — behind Camp Randall Stadium and the Kohl Center.

Verona City Administrator Bill Burns said preliminary plans were unveiled and discussed at Monday night’s planning commission meeting.

“It certainly is a large building — a large venue,” Burns said. “As Epic discussed at the presentation, the reason that they’re doing this is a very important part of their business — their annual user group meeting — and being able to get all their clients together in one place and do a lot of collaboration and learning from each other.”

It will likely be a few months before final approval comes. A public hearing is next on the docket, and then it will ultimately be up to the Verona City Council to approve the conditional use permit for the project.

Aside from some traffic, landscaping and parking questions, the planning commission raised few concerns about the proposal.

Epic said it hopes to have the facility open by the summer of 2013.

Representatives from Epic could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. At Monday night’s planning commission meeting, Epic said it needs the space for the continuously growing company. In the next year to year and a half, the company is expected to add as many as a 1,000 new jobs.