Operator Milwaukee Bucks Capacity 17,500 | Type Arena Broke ground June 18, 2016 | |
Address Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States Owner Wisconsin Center District | ||
The Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center is the tentative name of a $524 million multi-purpose arena in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Groundbreaking and construction began in June 2016, and completion is expected in 2018. It will serve as the home of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team.
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History
Despite being one of the premier NBA facilities when completed in 1988, the BMO Harris Bradley Center is currently one of the oldest active NBA arenas. The BMO Harris Bradley Center is unique in that it was a gift from a family without any provision for the building's long-term capital needs or annual operating expenses. While the facility is self-sufficient, the BMO Harris Bradley Center tenants such as the Bucks are at a disadvantage compared with other NBA teams due to the arrangement.
Building a new, state-of-the-art downtown arena was proposed by former Bucks owner and former U.S. Senator Herb Kohl. There was considerable discussion in the region about the idea of a publicly funded arena and ultimately no resolution was reached. In 2009, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle included a provision in the state's capital budget seeking $5 million in state bonding support to renovate the Bradley Center. The Bradley Center's board of directors told state officials that the building needs $23 million in renovations, so they reportedly agreed to raise the remaining $18 million on their own.
On September 18, 2013, then-deputy NBA commissioner Adam Silver toured the arena and said it was a few thousand square feet short of NBA standards, and also lacked numerous amenities. Soon afterward, the NBA gave the Bucks an ultimatum--get a new arena, or be close to completing a replacement, by the start of the 2017-18 season. On April 16, 2014, Kohl announced an agreement to sell the franchise to New York City hedge-fund investors Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens. The deal included provisions for $100 million each from Kohl and the new ownership group, for a total of $200 million, toward the construction of a new downtown arena. On July 15, 2015, the Wisconsin Senate approved funding for the new arena by a 21-10 margin, and on July 28, 2015, the Wisconsin State Assembly approved funding by a 52-34 margin. On August 12, 2015, Governor Walker signed the arena spending plan at Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin.
The Milwaukee city council voted 12-3 on September 22 to approve the plan. The city's Plan Commission gave unanimous conditional approval to the Bucks' general development plans for land in the Park East Corridor on November 23rd, while acknowledging possible parking problems in the area.
On April 13, 2016, the Bucks signed a 30-year lease to play in the new arena. In addition Marquette University has agreed to lease the arena for its home games.
The official groundbreaking was during the 2nd annual Bucks Block Party on June 18, 2016.
Planning and Design
The Milwaukee Bucks released the first images and details of their vision for the development of a new multi-purpose arena and sports and entertainment district to revitalize downtown Milwaukee on April 8, 2015. The images depict early conceptual drawings of a new multi-purpose venue and entertainment district that anchor an ambitious new development vision activated by sports, entertainment, residential and office uses. The proposed site, which primarily sits between 4th Street and 6th Street from State Street to McKinley Avenue, will seamlessly link with active development on all sides, including Old World Third Street, Schlitz Park, The Brewery, the Milwaukee riverfront, Water Street and the Wisconsin Center.
Populous and HNTB, two firms from Kansas City, are leading the arena design team with participation from Milwaukee firm Eppstein Uhen. The arena is intended to be the focal point of a "live block" zone that includes public space surrounded by both commercial and residential development. Initial renderings of the arena show a transparent facade and a curved roof and side meant to evoke the water forms of nearby Lake Michigan and the Milwaukee River.
The WESC is planned to hold 17,500 people and will have fewer luxury suites, but more club seating than the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
It will also feature a layout and equipment for an NHL/NCAA-regulation ice hockey rink and ice shows such as Disney on Ice, thus it still will be able to host the NCAA Frozen Four as the BMO Harris Bradley Center did in the past in 1993, 1997 and 2006. However, the American Hockey League's Milwaukee Admirals returned to the UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena in the 2016-17 season as they were not approached to play games in the arena. The Bucks are also contractually bound not to recruit current tenants of the Panther Arena to move their events to the WESC.