Kohl/Arena Discussion Page 71 - Study Released

[drew881]

Can we also build Kevin Durant? Missing one minor piece to this puzzle...

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

What's going on with Barrett's trolley project? I will predict if that thing actually gets the green light, it will be the nail in the coffin for the Bucks. No way there's enough money for a new stadium if that trolley soaks up what little tax money is available.

[KeyRabbit]

Deadspin graphic on stadium financing trends

http://deadspin.com/5964116/animated-infographic-watch-as-americas-stadiums-pile-up-on-the-backs-of-taxpayers

[trwi7]

http://media2.620wtmj.com/WAN/120712_Kass.mp3

[N8Frog]

Build a new with 12K capacity, create your own demand.

[Shinyhubcaps]

http://media2.620wtmj.com/WAN/120712_Kass.mp3

I agree with the hosts, really grateful for the coverage. TMJ is pushing it too. Good to hear there's some potential. Funny that he knows Racine wouldn't want it, Racine hates everything.

[MadBlue]

Not sure if this has been mentioned already, but apparently Michael Heisley is interested in buying the Bucks.

Heard a fresh round of rumbles this week that former Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley, as covered here in early November, is already interested in buying back into the league and has the Milwaukee Bucks in his sights.

So that's one more intriguing variable to factor into Milwaukee's season of mystery.

Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings, don't forget, are in the final season of their respective contracts. Ditto for coach Scott Skiles and general manager John Hammond. Why not throw a potential ownership transfer into the Brew Stew?

Heisley is based in Chicago and, based on what's been circulating, sees the Bucks as a natural team to pursue to keep him close to home.

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-121214-15/nba-top-trade-targets

[RiotPunch]

Dude is going to be 75 this year, but I could get behind this. He gets to stay close to Chicago and will keep the Bucks in MKE.

Don't really know much about him though. Seems to have done a solid job while owning the Grizz.

[mcfromage]

Interesting development re: Heisley. Don't really know much about the guy but I was struck by two things: 1. the fact that a quick Google search shows his net worth as strikingly larger then Kohl's (dude's a billionaire) and 2. this comment at the end of that Stein article:

Can-I-Get-A-Hot-Tub
Heard a fresh round of rumbles this week that former Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley, as covered here in early November, is already interested in buying back into the league and has the Milwaukee Bucks in his sights.
=
If I'm the league, I do NOT let this happen. This guy moved the franchise from Vancouver to MEM and sucked for a long time, then sold the team when the team was at its highest value.

Now because the Grizz are actually really good, he feels regret about taking the money over the love of basketball. Now he wants back in the league, and if the Bucks continue to suck, he will move the team and/or sell it again.less

Curious to hear others thoughts on this. Stein is usually pretty plugged into the team as my memory serves...

[paulpressey25]

Heisley has been linked to the Bucks for a decade now. As noted, he was the guy who moved the Grizzlies. He is a businessman first and foremost. Born in DC, grew up in VA and a Georgetown Grad. In other words he is a guy with no roots or strong ties to Wisconsin. That for me is a big negative. The other negative is the age. What happens to the team if he passes on?

That said, the big positives are:

a) This guy has money although he's cheap (see Pau Gasol salary dump in 2008)
b) He didn't run a bad franchise in Memphis. Other than wanting to have Dick Versace for awhile, he did bring in Jerry West for a spell and the current Memphis roster is really his.
c) He doesn't buy the team unless it is in conjunction with a new arena and presumably a long-term lease.

Here is Stein's commentary on this from last month.

We haven't necessarily seen the last of former Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley.

Not if you buy what's circulating with increasing volume about Heisley's interest in eventually buying the Milwaukee Bucks from Herb Kohl.

Sale speculation about the Bucks has been a staple for years, but the latest scenario in circulation has the Chicago-based Heisley making a serious bid to buy the franchise if Sen. Kohl can secure the new building (or Bradley Center refurbishment) that would cement the team's future in Wisconsin.

Kohl is 76. Heisley is 75 and cited his age as one of the factors that prompted him to sell the Grizzlies to 34-year-old technology magnate Robert Pera, but Heisley also made it clear when news of the sale emerged in June that he might not have taken that step if his dream of the Grizzlies becoming the second NBA team in the Chicago area had materialized.

Buying the Bucks would give Heisley a very-close-to-home route back into the league he loves, after those long-ago attempts to convince the league that Chicago was big enough for two NBA franchises proved unsuccessful.

[Ayt]

Can we also build Kevin Durant? Missing one minor piece to this puzzle...

How about a 7-2 Durant?

[JayMKE]

Unless he pays for a new arena, I can't see this ending well. The guy already moved one franchise. Just because he lives in Chicago, doesn't mean he'll have any loyalty to Milwaukee. A billionaire like him could commute to games across the country every night if he wanted too.

He's from the Virginia area, Virginia Beach has been making rumblings about wanting a team...

[raferfenix]

If a sale is part of an arena deal, wouldn't that lock the Bucks into Milwaukee for some numbers of years?

I assume that would be a primary negotiation point, especially for whoever else is buying into the arena.

And his track record of trying to get a team in the Chicago-area makes me feel better about this too:

Heisley also made it clear when news of the sale emerged in June that he might not have taken that step if his dream of the Grizzlies becoming the second NBA team in the Chicago area had materialized.

Buying the Bucks would give Heisley a very-close-to-home route back into the league he loves, after those long-ago attempts to convince the league that Chicago was big enough for two NBA franchises proved unsuccessful.

[gbmb34]

He's really cheap and a meddler. He'd be worse than Kohl IMO. But if the team needs his capital to stay and Kohl's remaining capital to build an arena, what choice do we have?

[emunney]

Haha, of course. Out of the frying pan and into the **** volcano.