MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — A recently completed Manatee County project is expected to bring in up to $40 million a year to the local economy.

What You Need To Know • Bradenton Area Convention Center completes $54 million project • By 2027, the facility should be stimulating the economy by $30 to $40 million a year, officials believe • Local businesses like Papa's Pizzeria hope to benefit

A two-year, $54 million improvement project at the Bradenton Area Convention Center significantly expanded the facility.

Business owners like James Schumacher hope the project brings an increase in foot traffic to his location.

“It’s all made in house,” he said of Papa's Pizzeria , which he has owned and operated in Palmetto for two years. Everyone calls him Papa Jimmy.

“I like being around people,"

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