Milwaukee aldermen OK $175,000 for BMO Harris Bradley Center fixes
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/milwaukee-aldermen-ok-175000-for-bmo-harris-bradley-center-fixes-b99132945z1-230216731.html
Quote"It is not an investment. It is a gift from the the city to the Bradley Center," [Alderman Nik] Kovac said.
Gee... thanks for that aldermen of Milwaukee. In 2013 dollars, you've managed to give 0.09% of what Jane and Lloyd gifted in the mid-80s.
It should be enough to finish cleaning up the bat droppings.
What is it about the BC that draws so much ire? I've never been there and thought it wasn't a good venue, and I've seen concerts, hockey and basketball. What is a good arena? The United Center in Chicago? Been there for the same events and its good, too. What do people want? Beers and a seatback seem to do just fine for me.
Quote from: MUFC9295 on November 02, 2013, 12:21:49 PM
What is it about the BC that draws so much ire? I've never been there and thought it wasn't a good venue, and I've seen concerts, hockey and basketball. What is a good arena? The United Center in Chicago? Been there for the same events and its good, too. What do people want? Beers and a seatback seem to do just fine for me.
Actually it is a decent and rather ageless facility, just designed for hockey as opposed to basketball. The big knock on the BC is that it is lacking in amenities to make it a "destination".
Quote from: MUFC9295 on November 02, 2013, 12:21:49 PM
What is it about the BC that draws so much ire? I've never been there and thought it wasn't a good venue, and I've seen concerts, hockey and basketball. What is a good arena? The United Center in Chicago? Been there for the same events and its good, too. What do people want? Beers and a seatback seem to do just fine for me.
Lack of suites and it's designed for the wrong sports.
Quote from: Nukem2 on November 02, 2013, 12:32:25 PM
Actually it is a decent and rather ageless facility, just designed for hockey as opposed to basketball. The big knock on the BC is that it is lacking in amenities to make it a "destination".
It is a very nice basketball arena. The question I keep asking is if they were to build a United Center North (whoever "They" is), does Milwaukee have the size and strength to support an additional layer of luxury suites? Between the Bradley Center and the Brewers, I seriously question whether Milwaukee can.
The Bradley Center is a great home court advantage for MU, just as the Arena was before it. I just don't see us filling a 22,000 seat arena regularly
More suites and a better seating configuration at the BC is exactly how Milwaukee needs to spend its tax dollars.
Schools, schmools. Amirite?
Quote from: dgies9156 on November 02, 2013, 02:47:29 PM
It is a very nice basketball arena. The question I keep asking is if they were to build a United Center North (whoever "They" is), does Milwaukee have the size and strength to support an additional layer of luxury suites? Between the Bradley Center and the Brewers, I seriously question whether Milwaukee can.
The Bradley Center is a great home court advantage for MU, just as the Arena was before it. I just don't see us filling a 22,000 seat arena regularly
Oh, I agree. Was just pointing out what naysayers are saying.
Target center, which is almost an exact replica of the Bradley center, starts their 110 million renovation this coming summer. Look for that to be the baseline. They were built a year apart.
Quote from: esotericmindguy on November 02, 2013, 03:24:17 PM
Target center, which is almost an exact replica of the Bradley center, starts their 110 million renovation this coming summer. Look for that to be the baseline. They were built a year apart.
Remind me. Located where?
By the way, I'm a BMO BC renovation proponent.
Quote from: esotericmindguy on November 02, 2013, 03:24:17 PM
Target center, which is almost an exact replica of the Bradley center, starts their 110 million renovation this coming summer. Look for that to be the baseline. They were built a year apart.
milwaukee messed up when Pottawatomie built where they did. the best thing about the target center, and that entire area, is the skyway that connects all the restaurants, shopping, hotels, etc. last time i traveled to minneapolis in the winter i never set foot outside other than jumping in and out of a cab from airport to hotel and back.
if we had easy indoor access to the casino, mall, both arenas and a few hotels/restaurants it would be a great winter destination.
Quote from: jsglow on November 02, 2013, 03:36:53 PM
Remind me. Located where?
By the way, I'm a BMO BC renovation proponent.
Downtown Minneapolis. 97 million, sorry.
http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_24403219/timberwolves-target-center-getting-97-million-makeover?IADID=Search-www.twincities.com-www.twincities.com
Quote from: dgies9156 on November 02, 2013, 02:47:29 PM
It is a very nice basketball arena. The question I keep asking is if they were to build a United Center North (whoever "They" is), does Milwaukee have the size and strength to support an additional layer of luxury suites? Between the Bradley Center and the Brewers, I seriously question whether Milwaukee can.
The Bradley Center is a great home court advantage for MU, just as the Arena was before it. I just don't see us filling a 22,000 seat arena regularly
I doubt there would be enough demand for a 22,000 seat arena for the Bucks as well. And without ND, UL, Pitt, WVU, UConn and SU making trips to Milwaukee, we dont need that capacity.
Quote from: Pakuni on November 02, 2013, 02:54:05 PM
More suites and a better seating configuration at the BC is exactly how Milwaukee needs to spend its tax dollars.
Schools, schmools. Amirite?
My great grandfather taught himself to read.
Quote from: esotericmindguy on November 02, 2013, 05:20:01 PM
Downtown Minneapolis. 97 million, sorry.
http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_24403219/timberwolves-target-center-getting-97-million-makeover?IADID=Search-www.twincities.com-www.twincities.com
Thanks. An excellent comparable to follow over the next couple of years. No doubt the Twin Cities have far greater resources than Milwaukee so if a renovation is successful up there I'd think it an excellent 'role model' for MKE, the NBA's smallest market. As to the BMO BC's location, I find it perfect especially as the Park East corridor slowly develops. Love popping out the back door of Buck Bradley's or walking up from the Hilton. And I remember the huge controversy about locating Miller Park either at the County Stadium site or downtown. Baseball is different, especially in Milwaukee. One word.... tailgating.
Quote from: esotericmindguy on November 02, 2013, 03:24:17 PM
Target center, which is almost an exact replica of the Bradley center, starts their 110 million renovation this coming summer. Look for that to be the baseline. They were built a year apart.
Target Center is a dump compared to the BC. Been to plenty of games at both. It'll take $110 million to get the TC up to the level of the BC....
Quote from: jsglow on November 02, 2013, 06:45:48 PM
MKE, the NBA's smallest market.
Just an FYI, we are not the smallest NBA market. We have a larger metropolitan population than Oklahoma City and Memphis. We are also similar in size to Portland and San Antonio.
Quote from: striker14 on November 03, 2013, 03:04:22 AM
Just an FYI, we are not the smallest NBA market. We have a larger metropolitan population than Oklahoma City and Memphis. We are also similar in size to Portland and San Antonio.
I would change the phrasing of this a little bit. San Antonio and Portland both have more than 500,000 people than the Milwaukee metro area. Oklahoma City and Memphis are smaller than Milwaukee but are both within 200,000.
Quote from: TAMU Eagle on November 03, 2013, 04:49:52 AM
I would change the phrasing of this a little bit. San Antonio and Portland both have more than 500,000 people than the Milwaukee metro area. Oklahoma City and Memphis are smaller than Milwaukee but are both within 200,000.
Okay thanks. This further cements my position that a renovation of the BC is more than satisfactory. Those that want to spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer's money often claim that we hang on to professional sports teams by a very thin thread. Sure, maybe the Bucks bolt for Seattle. But a properly renovated BC won't be the primary reason. At the other end of the scale, build it and they will come isn't always the answer. Case in point in my mind is Louisville and the KFC YUM Center.
Quote from: GooooMarquette on November 02, 2013, 08:08:13 PM
Target Center is a dump compared to the BC. Been to plenty of games at both. It'll take $110 million to get the TC up to the level of the BC....
Not sure how you can say that....they are extremely similar, I've been to both plenty as well. Neither is world class. It only cost 100 million to build the entire Bradley center, so I'm not sure how 100 million would only bring Target Center up to BC's level.
Quote from: jsglow on November 03, 2013, 07:31:37 AM
Okay thanks. This further cements my position that a renovation of the BC is more than satisfactory. Those that want to spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer's money often claim that we hang on to professional sports teams by a very thin thread. Sure, maybe the Bucks bolt for Seattle. But a properly renovated BC won't be the primary reason. At the other end of the scale, build it and they will come isn't always the answer. Case in point in my mind is Louisville and the KFC YUM Center.
Oh I agree with you completely. I was just helping the other get his facts straight.
Can someone with knowledge provide a list of successful stadium renovations, and detail what was done along with the cost of those renovations?
Sure, the Bradley Center could be easily be expanded to the north or south to include restaurants, clubs, shopping - but in my mind that doesn't address the biggest shortcoming of the Bradley Center..... the seating bowl. As a hockey arena, the upper deck begins too far away from the court.
On its face, I think everyone likes the renovation idea, but is it realistic? Could more boxes be added? Could the seating bowl be reconstructed? And, at what price? These are questions that I have never heard answered.
Quote from: LittleMurs on November 02, 2013, 06:20:47 PM
My great grandfather taught himself to read.
Sure he did.
Quote from: 94Warrior on November 03, 2013, 09:38:28 AM
Can someone with knowledge provide a list of successful stadium renovations, and detail what was done along with the cost of those renovations?
Sure, the Bradley Center could be easily be expanded to the north or south to include restaurants, clubs, shopping - but in my mind that doesn't address the biggest shortcoming of the Bradley Center..... the seating bowl. As a hockey arena, the upper deck begins too far away from the court.
On its face, I think everyone likes the renovation idea, but is it realistic? Could more boxes be added? Could the seating bowl be reconstructed? And, at what price? These are questions that I have never heard answered.
When I was with the Angels, we renovated Angels Stadium. Very successful. Replaced every existing seat, redid the suites including adding some, and actually removed thousands of seats to take the capacity from 65K down to 45K, put the huge rockpile in centerfield along with the waterfalls. This was all in 1998. In that example it worked because it took a general use cookie cutter stadium tht was used for the Angels and Rams and made it into a baseball only stadium. Much more attractive, etc.
As long as Herb Kohl is alive and owns the team, the Bucks aren't going anywhere.
Quote from: TAMU Eagle on November 03, 2013, 09:18:26 AM
Oh I agree with you completely. I was just helping the other get his facts straight.
Depends on the data you use. In 2010 Milwaukee had 2,025,000 in the combined metro. Portland had 2,290,000 and San Antonio had 2,195,000. OKC is 1.3 million, Memphis 1.316 million. That's a lot more than 200,000 difference.
We also have the advantage of another 500,000 metro population in Madison only an hour away, and an additional 600,000 in the areas between here and Green Bay. A fair number of fans make the trek to Milwaukee a couple of times a year to watch games, and I'm sure a lot more could be attracted by a good team (although I'm not sure a new stadium is necessary for that). I personally don't care that much whether they do renovations or build a new stadium, but I do think we need to do whatever we can to keep the Bucks.
As far as I can tell, facts are straight.
I realize wikipedia is not a preferred source, but here's where my numbers come from.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_metropolitan_area
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_metropolitan_area
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_metropolitan_area
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_metropolitan_area
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio_metropolitan_area
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison,_Wisconsin
Don't use the target center numbers to benchmark fot the BC.
The target center is pure pork. It was an add on to the stadium bill for the Vikes. The Vikes bill had to include a bunch of crap to get it passed. It included a new stadium for the st. Paul Saints, renovation for the target center, money for some artsy-fartsy stuff. None of this add on crap was vetted well, as our dumb @ss gov was sportin' major wood for a stadium deal.
Glad he got it done, but waaaaaaay too expensive.
Here, I thought this thread was gonna be about Crean cross dressin'.
Quote from: striker14 on November 03, 2013, 01:25:47 PM
Depends on the data you use. In 2010 Milwaukee had 2,025,000 in the combined metro. Portland had 2,290,000 and San Antonio had 2,195,000. OKC is 1.3 million, Memphis 1.316 million. That's a lot more than 200,000 difference.
We also have the advantage of another 500,000 metro population in Madison only an hour away, and an additional 600,000 in the areas between here and Green Bay. A fair number of fans make the trek to Milwaukee a couple of times a year to watch games, and I'm sure a lot more could be attracted by a good team (although I'm not sure a new stadium is necessary for that). I personally don't care that much whether they do renovations or build a new stadium, but I do think we need to do whatever we can to keep the Bucks.
As far as I can tell, facts are straight.
I realize wikipedia is not a preferred source, but here's where my numbers come from.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_metropolitan_area
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_metropolitan_area
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_metropolitan_area
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_metropolitan_area
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio_metropolitan_area
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison,_Wisconsin
Funny, I got my facts from Wikipedia too. They don't match haha
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas
Quote from: TAMU Eagle on November 03, 2013, 07:06:32 PM
Funny, I got my facts from Wikipedia too. They don't match haha
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas
Good old Wikipedia, reliable as ever.
Quote from: PTM on November 02, 2013, 12:33:06 PM
Lack of suites and it's designed for the wrong sports.
Curling? Badminton? Monster Trucks? What are the wrong sports? Seeing as how it accomodates b-ball and hockey (or indoor soccer) which is all Milwaukee has, I see the design as quite appropriate. Do you want MU to play at a more Mecca-like arena?
Quote from: MUFC9295 on November 03, 2013, 09:36:23 PM
Curling? Badminton? Monster Trucks? What are the wrong sports? Seeing as how it accomodates b-ball and hockey (or indoor soccer) which is all Milwaukee has, I see the design as quite appropriate. Do you want MU to play at a more Mecca-like arena?
I think what he was referring to is that the BC is built like a hockey stadium even though its biggest revenue sports are basketball. It works for both but would make more sense to have it built like a basketball stadium that happens to accommodate for hockey as well.
Quote from: TAMU Eagle on November 03, 2013, 09:45:14 PM
I think what he was referring to is that the BC is built like a hockey stadium even though its biggest revenue sports are basketball. It works for both but would make more sense to have it built like a basketball stadium that happens to accommodate for hockey as well.
Building it for BB first would have been wise. Good arenas that are BB first but also house hockey are the American Airlines Center (Dallas) and the Rose Garden (Portland). Both great venues for BB that are multipurpose.
Hockey first due to the origin of its funding. It is called the Bradley Center for a reason. A pig with lipstick is still a pig, and a gift horse still is a gift horse. Or something like that.