The MECCA Is No Longer

[ChuckyChip]

https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/2025/08/14/toms-watch-bar-mecca-sports-bar-milwaukee-deer-district/85656656007/?tbref=hp

[cheebs09]

The Major is victorious in battle again.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

So will the new owners still favor Bucky Badger over Marquette?

[muwarrior69]

...and I thought the old Milwaukee Arena is gone?

[Scoop Snoop]

...and I thought the old Milwaukee Arena is gone?

Me too. It was good enough for us, but not for the many effete, snooty, entitled scoopers here who insisted they had to have a hoity toity fancy arena. What a bunch of wimps!

[wadesworld]

Me too. It was good enough for us, but not for the many effete, snooty, entitled scoopers here who insisted they had to have a hoity toity fancy arena. What a bunch of wimps!

Probably wouldn't have had to pay taxes or fees on my tickets if we still played at the Mecca.

[tower912]

If it was good enough for Al, it should be good enough for scoopers. 



There will be another sports bar themed establishment eventually.

[Scoop Snoop]

If it was good enough for Al, it should be good enough for scoopers. 

Damn straight! The ghost of Al is still there. He never coached in that bat infested Bradley Center and would have been embarrassed by the slick Fiserv. It doesn't go with his cracked sidewalks image, but it is perfect for today's candy-ass Marquette fans. The Milwaukee Arena was shabby chic long before that term was invented.

[The Sultan]

Al can't give anyone hell in the Fiserv.

[wadesworld]

Al would've never coached in an NBA arena.

[Uncle Rico]

Al would've never coached in an NBA arena.

Al would have been a terrible coach in the modern game.  He'd have been fired 3 years in

[Shaka Shart]

Al would have been a terrible coach in the modern game.  He'd have been fired 3 years in

4 or 5 years to judge?

[Uncle Rico]

4 or 5 years to judge?

Honestly, he'd never have gotten hired at Marquette because of woke

[tower912]

Like everyone else, he would have had to adjust to the shot clock and 3 pt line.   No more Dean Smith going to the 4 corners too early and baling Al out.

[Shaka Shart]

The shot clock is part of participation award culture. Nobody earns their points anymore

[The Lens]

This place looks like the exact opposite of the MECCA.

By the end the MECCA had "maybe" 3 cable feeds.  This place lists every MLB & every televised WNBA game on is website for events on the MLPS site. 

The MECCA was run (into the ground) by a national concessionaire group.  Having actual resaurantuers running this spot will be a welcome change.

I still stand on my hill that the Deer District has been mostly a flop. Punch Bowl Social folder, Good City got out of half their lease, the MECCA was chair up for post games, Drink Wisconsinably has been the most successful bc they have the smallest space and focus on just getting you drinks as soon as possible.  Some of the failure are bad operators,  some of it is the insane rents that the Bucks have been charging.  It always seemed like the best pre and post options were on MLK or the Major.  The Trade lobby bar can be fun but they like to close early and never stock enough Miller Lite for a MU post game. 

[The Sultan]

This place looks like the exact opposite of the MECCA.

By the end the MECCA had "maybe" 3 cable feeds.  This place lists every MLB & every televised WNBA game on is website for events on the MLPS site. 

The MECCA was run (into the ground) by a national concessionaire group.  Having actual resaurantuers running this spot will be a welcome change.

I still stand on my hill that the Deer District has been mostly a flop. Punch Bowl Social folder, Good City got out of half their lease, the MECCA was chair up for post games, Drink Wisconsinably has been the most successful bc they have the smallest space and focus on just getting you drinks as soon as possible.  Some of the failure are bad operators,  some of it is the insane rents that the Bucks have been charging.  It always seemed like the best pre and post options were on MLK or the Major.  The Trade lobby bar can be fun but they like to close early and never stock enough Miller Lite for a MU post game. 

And the entire district is a ghost town when nothing is going on at Fiserv.

[cheebs09]

I think a lot of the novelty has worn off since it was packed for the playoff runs early on. The places don't seem to be attractive enough to go there on non-game days.

I wonder how much COVID and staffing issues have hurt it. It is wild to come out of a game and want to grab a quick beer or some food and see all the places closed.

[Hards Alumni]

I think a huge problem is just how large and generic these places are.  I've walked past on nice days and the doors to outside are closed and the outdoor seating is empty.

Another part of the problem is there isn't much to down down in the DD except drink.  Unless it is game day, it is just a big sports bar district... which the city didn't need any more of.

Slap a bar cade, or a Dave and Busters, a bowling alley, a bar games type of bar, a golf sim, and even a smallish picnic area with some greenery and trees, and you have a much more functional area where people might go outside of game day and events.

[#UnleashSean]

4 or 5 years to judge?

 

[#UnleashSean]

This place looks like the exact opposite of the MECCA.

By the end the MECCA had "maybe" 3 cable feeds.  This place lists every MLB & every televised WNBA game on is website for events on the MLPS site. 

The MECCA was run (into the ground) by a national concessionaire group.  Having actual resaurantuers running this spot will be a welcome change.

I still stand on my hill that the Deer District has been mostly a flop. Punch Bowl Social folder, Good City got out of half their lease, the MECCA was chair up for post games, Drink Wisconsinably has been the most successful bc they have the smallest space and focus on just getting you drinks as soon as possible.  Some of the failure are bad operators,  some of it is the insane rents that the Bucks have been charging.  It always seemed like the best pre and post options were on MLK or the Major.  The Trade lobby bar can be fun but they like to close early and never stock enough Miller Lite for a MU post game. 

It all comes down to how easily one can grab a beer, and how much that beer cost

Generally all beer sold at the deer district has a price that makes people gag. And everyone but drink wisconsinibly sucks at getting a beer in hand.

I hazard a guess that very very few regular attendees of games drink at any of the bars in deer district. 

This is where Goolsby's thrives. They have regular attendance that from November-may they have large group attendances almost daily.