Photo of the basketball court at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Home of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Image Credit: Jeramey Jannene (CC BY 2.0)

The Milwaukee Bucks organization have officially signed a one year lease with the BMO Harris Bradley Center; the team’s final lease with the venue.The Milwaukee Bucks will begin playing at their new $524 million dollar arena beginning in the fall of 2018. Until then, the Bucks will play one final season at the Bradley Center; their home arena since 1988. 

Traditionally, the Bradley Center would pay the Milwaukee Bucks $2.1 million per season as shared revenue generated from suites. Under the new lease, the arena won’t do so until the team pay’s the closing costs for the new lease which were not disclosed to the public. There will be additional expenses the Bradley Center will be faced with when the arena closes down in 2018 so the new lease works out well for both parties. The Bradley Center will also pay the Milwaukee Bucks additional shared revenues if the team makes the playoffs in 2017-2018.

The NBA has already granted it’s stamp of approval for the new lease. In fact, it was mounting pressure from the league that led the Milwaukee Bucks to fast-track the construction of a new arena for the team. As the NBA saw it, the Milwaukee Bucks did not offer fans an arena that was up to the standards of the rest of the league and they were right. If the team and city couldn’t come up with the funds to build a new arena, the NBA would purchase the team from Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry and sell to investors in Las Vegas or Seattle.

The new arena does not currently have a naming rights agreement with a corporation in place but the development is currently dubbed the Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center. Construction for the Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center first broke ground last summer and is already at the midway point of completion. Outside of the arena will be an “arena district” that will offer retail, bars and restaurants for fans to enjoy both pre and post-game. The Milwaukee Bucks have a bright future with the likes of players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker and Thon Maker. It's safe to say the Milwaukee fan base haven't been this excited since the playing days of Oscar Robertson and Lew Alcindor. 

 

Reference:

BizJournals.com

  

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