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Ray Allen enjoyed playing in Milwaukee for the first seven years of his National Basketball Association career.

And the current Miami Heat player has a word of warning for those in Milwaukee who might take the Bucks for granted.

"I think they can support a team, but it's one thing to say if you can or cannot support a team," Allen said in a recent interview. "You've really got to put your best foot forward."

The Bucks are playing in the aging BMO Harris Bradley Center, one of the oldest facilities in the league. They currently rank 27th among 30 league teams in attendance with an average of 13,904 fans, and that number was boosted by Saturday's sellout against the Heat (18,717 is capacity).

A serious conversation has yet to get under way about a new arena or the long-term viability of Milwaukee as an NBA market. But Bucks owner Herb Kohl signaled his intention to jump-start the process at a news conference last year, when he talked about the need for a modern arena and community involvement.

Naming rights were sold and corporate sponsors recruited for each of the four gates at the arena, through an effort coordinated by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. The gates are sponsored by Kohl's Department Stores, Miller Lite, Northwestern Mutual and Potawatomi Bingo Casino.

And in October a six-year lease agreement was reached between the Bradley Center and the Bucks, extending through Sept. 30, 2017.

"You could do something great in this city if everybody put their best foot behind it," Allen said.

Allen has played in Seattle, a city that lost its franchise to Oklahoma City and now has plans to build a new arena in an effort to lure an NBA team.

"The mistake that the team, the city can make, is if you don't prepare for your future, you'll start looking around and saying it (the arena) is antiquated," Allen said. "And the team will have to move just to keep up or compete.

"Then it will be too late. So around here you've got to start jumping ahead of the curve."

With concerts, basketball and hockey games, it's a busy time of the year at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

The arena is nearly 25 years old now, but BMO Harris Bradley Center officials have been rolling out a number of improvements over the past few months.

The changes include complete renovation of the arena's 44 suites; more theater boxes in areas that used to have suites; a new Backcourt Club hospitality area on the service level; and a South End food and beverage area on the 200 level.

The renovations and upgrades total about $3 million, said Steve Costello, president and CEO of the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

"There are some great new things happening here," Costello said Thursday during a press tour of the building. "It's what our fans are looking for."

Costello said the renovations would not have been possible without corporate support and a $5 million grant from the state.

Early last year, BMO Harris Bank and major corporate sponsors, including Miller Lite, Potawatomi Bingo and Casino, Kohl's Corp. and Northwestern Mutual, stepped in to provide financial support under a program called Champions of the Community. About $18 million was raised to help support the arena over the next six years.

That support is crucial to the future of the arena and for its main tenants: the Milwaukee Bucks, Milwaukee Admirals and the Marquette University men's basketball team.

"These four companies and BMO Harris and many others deserve credit, and we greatly appreciate their efforts to extend the life of the building," Costello said.

Here are highlights of the changes:

The suites have been completely redone for the first time in the arena's history. The glass doors that used to separate the suite from the viewing area are gone, giving fans the sense of more space to view the action on the floor or ice. The colors inside are new, too.
Theater boxes have proved to be popular at the arena, so more are being added. There are now 16 theater boxes that include a private dining table.
"It's a very comfortable space," Costello said. The boxes are leased on a yearly basis, and are all-inclusive with parking, food and beverage. The boxes lease for $65,000 to $70,000 a year and have appealed to companies looking for an all-inclusive price.
The Backcourt Club, carved out of an area on the arena's service level, is intended to be more exclusive to those in the high-price seats at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Fans at the club are able to see players walk by as they enter and leave the court or ice. For Bucks' games, the club has a capacity of up to 100 people. "We'll use it for all team and special events," Costello said.
The South End, on the 200 level, is open for all events and fans. The new area has a seating and table area and offers new food options, including sandwiches from Jake's Deli and nachos from the El Rey grocery. MillerCoors also has a new bar area, the "Tap House," with 30 types of beer.

LUKE23 wrote:Attanasio would be a horrible owner for the Bucks. I know people are enamored with the idea, but the guy wants to operate with a profit.

LUKE23 wrote:Attanasio would be a horrible owner for the Bucks. I know people are enamored with the idea, but the guy wants to operate with a profit.

EastSideBucksFan wrote:Which is why he would slash payroll, stop overpaying veterans and work to find stars in the draft....why wouldn't fans like that?

LUKE23 wrote:Attanasio would be a horrible owner for the Bucks. I know people are enamored with the idea, but the guy wants to operate with a profit.

Rumors coming from @ArenaSeattle that the Maloofs have sold the Kings to Seattle. Could be what Mayor McGinn's press conference is about.