Bradley Center / MU

[dw3dw3dw3]

Just trying to generate some thoughtful discussion.... Would MU be better or worse off with the Bucks leaving town? I know some like to bestow the virtues of the recruiting benefits of having the Bucks players around the city, but perhaps we would get equal or greater benefit from being the top BB program in a large city without an NBA team.

Kohl has tried enough with the Bucks to make me feel appreciative, but I don't think he has the energy to try to build the political team needed to get them to build a new arena.  Its either going to sit there for 10 years until one of the rafters falls down and hurts somebody or he'll create a plausible deniability scenario that a new buyer would move the team out of here (see: Seattle).

http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/121810714.html

[GGGG]

Milwaukee can be such a nice, sensible city, but sometimes it can be too sensible for its own good.  This is going to be a long, ugly process just like the Miller Park issue was.  I can't imagine that if the State Legislature from 1996 could transport themselves to 2011, that the idea of adopting a 0.1% sales tax for Miller Park would be considered controversial at all. 

If Milwaukee wants to be a big league city, this is the game that has to be played.

As for how this impacts Marquette, my feeling is that the only benefit we take from the Bradley Center is that it is an "NBA Arena."  If it is no longer an "NBA Arena," it is too big, too quiet, and too multi-purpose for Marquette's needs.

[bilsu]

I think MU would definately be worse off. Right now there is a $1. facilities fee added to tickets. I could see this going to $3, if Bucks leave. There is a hugh diffenece between college and pro ball, I do not see MU benefiting much in attendance, if the bucks leave. You do not go from being a pro basketball fan to watching MU play UWM or many of the other teams on their schedule. The really good games are already basically sold out. I think it is hard enough already to convince players from accross the country to come to Milwaukee and that is with Milwaukee being one of the few cities that has both pro basketball and baseball. I am not sure how much those teams help, but they certainly do not hurt. The best thing for MU would be a new state of the art arena and the only chance of that happening would be if the bucks stay.

[6746jonesr]

Just trying to generate some thoughtful discussion.... Would MU be better or worse off with the Bucks leaving town? I know some like to bestow the virtues of the recruiting benefits of having the Bucks players around the city, but perhaps we would get equal or greater benefit from being the top BB program in a large city without an NBA team.

Kohl has tried enough with the Bucks to make me feel appreciative, but I don't think he has the energy to try to build the political team needed to get them to build a new arena.  Its either going to sit there for 10 years until one of the rafters falls down and hurts somebody or he'll create a plausible deniability scenario that a new buyer would move the team out of here (see: Seattle).

http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/121810714.html

Have you watched the Bucks?  We are the top program in town.

[Coleman]

I think a very concrete way it would hurt us is you would see way less of the NBA players and Marquette alum a la Novak, Matthews, Wade, etc. showing up at Marquette games or even practices. They do this when they are in town playing the Bucks.

I'm not saying these guys would stop supporting the program altogether, but it is asking a lot for them to make appearances in Milwaukee for recruiting or what have you when they have no other reason to be here.

[Coleman]

Do you think if the Bucks left the State of Wisconsin would be willing to sell to MU?

Not sure if MU would be interested, how cheap they could get it, but I could definitely see this Republican administration wanting to unload it (not trying to turn this political, I could just easily see it happening as a way to get a little revenue or at least unload a burden under control of the state). Would be kind of cool to have it be actual MU campus property.

We could rename it the Robert A. Wild arena.  

[Mr. Nielsen]

There is a hugh diffenece between college and pro ball, I do not see MU benefiting much in attendance, if the bucks leave. You do not go from being a pro basketball fan to watching MU play UWM or many of the other teams on their schedule.

SeattleU, which is new to D1, plays at KeyArena now.

I think UWM would get a small jump in attendance than MU would if the Bucks left.

I'm not a NBA fan, but I don't want the Bucks to leave town. We need a new arena for the Bucks.

[PBRme]

Hopefully with a new arena we would leapfrog the Admirals on the pecking order for dates

[Chili]

Hopefully with a new arena we would leapfrog the Admirals on the pecking order for dates

We already have. MU is the #2 tenant of the BC.

[GOO]

I don't think it matters much either way.  It helps having NBA players around for recruitment and having an NBA arena.

If the Bucks left, MU would get more corporate accounts and I think more ticket sales.  A lot of Buck's corporate accounts would probably pick up a few MU season tickets that don't think about it now. It would look really really cheap to them compared to the Bucks, as well, so it would be a natural to pick up a few seats for clients.  Plus, we'd get more weekend dates and Saturday nights!!

[DomJamesToTheBasket]

The best scenario for MU is for the Bucks to stay and get a state-of-the-art arena for MU to play at.  Recruits will want to play at one of the best arenas in the world.

[Coleman]

I think location of a new arena would be super important. If its just built on the current site of the BC, fine. But if they keep the BC and build elsewhere that could be very harmful to MU, should we decide to move our team to the new arena.

In fact, I'd rather take the BC, with its location close to campus, then a new state-of-the-art arena by Miller Park or something. Take a look at DePaul if you want to see what happens when you play far from campus.

[Dawson Rental]

I think location of a new arena would be super important. If its just built on the current site of the BC, fine. But if they keep the BC and build elsewhere that could be very harmful to MU, should we decide to move our to the new arena.

In fact, I'd rather take the BC, with its location close to campus, then a new state-of-the-art arena by Miller Park or something. Take a look at DePaul if you want to see what happens when you play far from campus.

How about the current MECCA site?

[BrewCity83]

If the city builds something new, you can bet that it will be located in the Park East area, which is adjacent to the Bradley Center.  That's where all of the spare land is and where all of the arena "infrastructure" is already located.

[MerrittsMustache]

In fact, I'd rather take the BC, with its location close to campus, then a new state-of-the-art arena by Miller Park or something. Take a look at DePaul if you want to see what happens when you play far from campus.

Agreed.

The location of Miller Park is great for tailgaters but did nothing to provide an economic boost to the downtown area. My co-workers who travel to Milwaukee from out of state almost always ask why the city built a new stadium in the middle of no where.

Back to the topic, I second what BrewCity said. If/when a new stadium gets built, it will in Park East.

[MuMark]

Kohl said at his press conference that he has no interest in selling the Bucks at this time. He also stated that they will not leave and when he does sell it will be to someone committed to keeping the team in the city.

Hopefully Kohl can get a new facility built but either way the Bucks aren't going anywhere.

[GGGG]

The location of Miller Park is great for tailgaters but did nothing to provide an economic boost to the downtown area. My co-workers who travel to Milwaukee from out of state almost always ask why the city built a new stadium in the middle of no where.

Oh boy.

I brought this up two years ago and I got a bunch of "tailgating is too important to Brewers fans" and "Brewers fans are too cheap to go out to dinner and need to truck in their own food" type responses.

I agree with you that the economic impact of Miller Park has been muted to a degree because of its location.

[PBRme]

Hopefully he has that in his will.

He's got to be up there in age.

[Coleman]

He also stated that they will not leave and when he does sell it will be to someone committed to keeping the team in the city.

Nice to hear, but that really means nothing. No one would buy the team if they were absolutely under all circumstances required to keep the team in Milwaukee (if the NBA would even allow that). Even if he sells to someone "committed" to keeping the team in Milwaukee, those commitments are easily changed by financial pressure. And they could also sell to another group, who might have completely different intentions.

The moving or staying put of a particular team is up to the current owner. If he sells, he has little recourse, despite what assurances he might have previously received.

[martyconlonontherun]

Have you watched the Bucks?  We are the top program in town.

The difference in talent is big. Dan Gadzuric would be our best player next year. Yes, they suck but theirs a reason why I prefer NBA ball and MU is second.

[martyconlonontherun]

Do you think if the Bucks left the State of Wisconsin would be willing to sell to MU?

Not sure if MU would be interested, how cheap they could get it, but I could definitely see this Republican administration wanting to unload it (not trying to turn this political, I could just easily see it happening as a way to get a little revenue or at least unload a burden under control of the state). Would be kind of cool to have it be actual MU campus property.

We could rename it the Robert A. Wild arena.  

IMHO, I think MU would lose money running the facility, not to mention take away resources to run a full scale arena like that. Besides 25 events each year, what would we us the BC for?

[Litehouse]

I still don't see why the BC couldn't be renovated.  There's a ton of room to the north to build whatever types of attached restaurants, hotels, or gift shops to generate revenue year-round.  They could expand into the atriums on either side to put in more amenities.  They could tear down the parking ramp to the west and add-on in that direction also, or build a new attached parking ramp to the north.

The only real problem with the BC is the configuration of the non-permanent seats in the lower bowl, and that could be remodeled to better fill in the gaps with more high-value seats.

[martyconlonontherun]

I still don't see why the BC couldn't be renovated.  There's a ton of room to the north to build whatever types of attached restaurants, hotels, or gift shops to generate revenue year-round.  They could expand into the atriums on either side to put in more amenities.  They could tear down the parking ramp to the west and add-on in that direction also, or build a new attached parking ramp to the north.

The only real problem with the BC is the configuration of the non-permanent seats in the lower bowl, and that could be remodeled to better fill in the gaps with more high-value seats.

The new stadium would be to generate money for the Bucks. They wouldn't gain money from restaurants, etc. The BC lacks suites and the lower bowl is configured for hockey, not basketball. It would cost more to renovate to the Bucks needs than it would generate income.

[Litehouse]

The new stadium would be to generate money for the Bucks. They wouldn't gain money from restaurants, etc. The BC lacks suites and the lower bowl is configured for hockey, not basketball. It would cost more to renovate to the Bucks needs than it would generate income.

One of the main reasons for bulding a new Arena is that the Bucks would get revenue from things like restaurants and gift shops, like the Brewers do from Fridays, and the Packers do from Curly's Pub.

Regarding suites, I don't think it's a lack of suites, a lot of them are empty anyway.  I think it's more of a lack of demand for suites.  If they really needed more suites, they could rip out all the upper-deck seats in the north endzone and build suites all the way up with an attached bar/restaurant in there somewhere.

What would be so expensive about reconfiguring the risers in the lower bowl?  Put in a tier of "club seats" on the west side with access to the courtside bar.  What are these other "needs" that the Bucks have?

[Brewtown Andy]

Do you think if the Bucks left the State of Wisconsin would be willing to sell to MU?

Not sure if MU would be interested, how cheap they could get it, but I could definitely see this Republican administration wanting to unload it (not trying to turn this political, I could just easily see it happening as a way to get a little revenue or at least unload a burden under control of the state). Would be kind of cool to have it be actual MU campus property.

We could rename it the Robert A. Wild arena.  

And then what do you do with the other 345 nights a year?