On-Campus Arena Tidbit

[Goose]

The Bucks would love for MU to leave. Free up more nights for bigger events. These guys know how to make money. They would find a way to sell out the circus at the Forum.

[GooooMarquette]

The Bucks would love for MU to leave. Free up more nights for bigger events. These guys know how to make money. They would find a way to sell out the circus at the Forum.

Topless jugglers, a'ina?

[4everwarriors]

4ever

How high up do your sources go?

To the point of having a face to face meeting about it with Dr. Lovell, in which his support was gauged.

[muwarrior69]

An on-campus arena idea is just a saber that will be rattled any time the Bucks guys try to hose us in the lease negotiations.  It's always good to have a Plan B to trot out.

PlanB:
MU: If you don't agree to our rental offer were going to build our own place.
Bucks Owners: Go ahead, build your own place, but with no beer sales on campus your lucky to get 5 season ticket holders.
MU: Where do we sign.

[MUMountin]

I wonder how much the basketball team's recent swoon affected the initial negotiations--when did they happen?

I'd think that Bucks/FF were able to get more of a bargain since MU was not playing as well and attendance had been lagging.  And, now that the basketball team has popped back on the national scene and had two strong attendance games in the FF, could this leak be an attempt to re-establish some leverage in the future negotiations? 

[MUfan12]

The Bucks would love for MU to leave. Free up more nights for bigger events. These guys know how to make money. They would find a way to sell out the circus at the Forum.

Not everything has sold out so far, and this is the first year of the arena.

They won't kick aside 20 dates. They won't be able to fill them.

[drewm88]

PlanB:
MU: If you don't agree to our rental offer were going to build our own place.
Bucks Owners: Go ahead, build your own place, but with no beer sales on campus your lucky to get 5 season ticket holders.
MU: Where do we sign.

Why no beer sales? That'd be up to Marquette to decide for themselves.

[Benny B]

What's interesting to me is who leaked this to the JS and why now.

Things that make you go hmm...

Because MU is trying to drum up chatter for the Thunderdome campaign before it kicks off following the Natty. 

Benny's doing pretty well in the market lately by trading volatility.

[Dish]

The Bucks should theoretically hate to see MU build an arena. Besides losing MU as a tenant, the hypothetical MU arena would very much compete for events with Fiserv.

I would love to see MU play in the tournament in Milwaukee though, like when Nova played in Philly a few years ago.

[Warrior of Law]

Keep the FF for 4-5 dates, and use the on-campus arena for the other 15 dates. Likely just a bargaining ploy, but a good strategy to get a favorable deal. The only alternative is the MECCA.

[warriorchick]

Sounds like they are waiting to start new project and take McCormick down as part of that to save money....2 for 1 as it were rather than two independent projects to tear down and then build.

Yep.  They even have a few folks working in offices in McCormick.  If it was completely empty it could be considered an "abandoned building" and the City could force MU to knock it down before they are ready to put up its replacement.

[wadesworld]

One positive that would come of this is Scoopers would stop crying about how much we spend on basketball and how our on court results don't match up with Duke.

[MUEng92]

The only alternative is the MECCA.

I would be living one of my recurring dreams where I'm back in our first house we bought before our first daughter was born.  At first it's sentimental then I start remembering all the reasons we moved away.

[fjm]

The Bucks would love for MU to leave. Free up more nights for bigger events. These guys know how to make money. They would find a way to sell out the circus at the Forum.

Como what?

Then why am I daily getting "50% off concert tickets!" And "$25 Eric church tickets!" And "BOGO UFC and WWE tickets" emails from Fiserv the days of or the days before the event. They are not selling out half of the stuff rolling in there.

Seriously, there is a UFC fight tomorrow that is national TV tomorrow, email today for 50% off tickets.

I have gone to 4 events there and for all of them I have paid half the originally planned price!
Or for Eric Church who is a pretty big country star, for tickets that are $75 retail for $25.

I don't think they are selling out what they thought they would.

Now Elton John And Metallica And food fighters, sure cause those acts are rarely around.

[BrewCity83]

Now Elton John And Metallica And food fighters, sure cause those acts are rarely around.

Everyone loves a good Food Fight!!

[wadesworld]

Como what?

Then why am I daily getting "50% off concert tickets!" And "$25 Eric church tickets!" And "BOGO UFC and WWE tickets" emails from Fiserv the days of or the days before the event. They are not selling out half of the stuff rolling in there.

Seriously, there is a UFC fight tomorrow that is national TV tomorrow, email today for 50% off tickets.

I have gone to 4 events there and for all of them I have paid half the originally planned price!
Or for Eric Church who is a pretty big country star, for tickets that are $75 retail for $25.

I don't think they are selling out what they thought they would.

Now Elton John And Metallica And food fighters, sure cause those acts are rarely around.

Not to mention the rent MU pays them that they no longer get if MU is not renting the building...

[augoman]

well since I advocated for the blue/gold fund to buy the arena years ago and then take uwm as a tenant and book concerts/events themselves, I obviously think MU is wise to explore an 'on campus' arena.  The Bucks gouge may have finally shaken them awake. 

[BM1090]

Yeah. No way the Bucks want MU to leave. That's 15-17 extra dates they need to work to fill.

[Goose]

The Bucks want MU is badly that they had such friendly lease discussions. MU felt so wanted they hired a company to develop on campus arena. Connect the dots, folks.

[Herman Cain]

Have had dealings with the Bucks primary owners over the years. They are pure sharks. They knew they had MU in a hard spot and drove a very hard bargain. Full retail was paid. Deal is done now and we can't look back.

The question is can an on site arena be done. I say yes, but they need to start now on putting together the financing. Need a lead donor of about $50 million then finance $150 million.  Throw in some naming rights and the deal can get done.

Has to be a low frills arena though. I thought when interest rates were lower there was an outside chance MU could finance its own arena. will be a little more expensive now.

[Mr. Nielsen]

The Bucks would love for MU to leave. Free up more nights for bigger events

I hope that wouldn't be the case. Many dark nights at Fiserv Forum. It's not MSG in terms of events.

[4everwarriors]

Have had dealings with the Bucks primary owners over the years. They are pure sharks. They knew they had MU in a hard spot and drove a very hard bargain. Full retail was paid. Deal is done now and we can't look back.

The question is can an on site arena be done. I say yes, but they need to start now on putting together the financing. Need a lead donor of about $50 million then finance $150 million.  Throw in some naming rights and the deal can get done.


Hermie, the vision is for the entire complex to have an on campus hotel and the arena would seat about 12k and be hockey accessible. Of course, concerts etc are a given.
Think Xavier's facility as a prototype.

Has to be a low frills arena though. I thought when interest rates were lower there was an outside chance MU could finance its own arena. will be a little more expensive now.

[mu03eng]

The Bucks want MU is badly that they had such friendly lease discussions. MU felt so wanted they hired a company to develop on campus arena. Connect the dots, folks.

The Bucks play very hard ball with everyone. The Bucks need MU way more than they let on. An on campus arena would be a disaster for everyone involved.

Another arena in MKE would be stupid, that would make more than a dozen. There is not nearly enough content to go around to support that number of venues

[Dish]

I was driving up to Michigan tonight and thinking how cut throat it is in the Chicago/Milwaukee area for events. SummerFest and Lolla will always draw and aren't at traditional arenas. Chicago has The World (whatever corporate sponsor) Ampitheatre in Tinley, Sears Centre, AllState, United Center, Wintrust, Soldier Field, and Wrigley. Then there's Alpine and Ravinia, and then Fiserv and the Mecca. Granted, all aren't always competing for the same things (Stones aren't playing Sears Centre), but it's crazy how many venues there are in a two-three hour drive for most folks.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The Bucks want MU is badly that they had such friendly lease discussions. MU felt so wanted they hired a company to develop on campus arena. Connect the dots, folks.

Very easy dots to connect. MU had no reasonable alternative this time around. That allowed the Bucks to jack up  the price. Doesn't mean that they didn't want MU in there. They just wanted to MU in there for as much money as they could squeeze. That's good business. I think exploring the possibility of an on campus arena was a wise move on MU's part.