Arena talk (Location, Funding plans, naming rights, etc)

[Octopus Jonny]

I hate the idea of putting it in the valley between Poto and MP. Hate it.

Also, I think it's important in the first post to mention the fact that Chesapeake Energy Arena had a $100ish million renovation completed in 2012.

I REALLY love the idea of lakefront/Third Ward area utilizing the Summerfest area.

[randybreuerfan]

To start, I would say I will be happy with a new arena anywhere in Milwaukee, and I am excited to see what happens.

I posted my thoughts earlier in what turned out to be the wrong thread. Rocky M said being close to Wisconsin Avenue is important for the city.

If the city and Marquette provide some $$$ and therefore are considered when choosing a location, why not put it right on Wisconsin Avenue? South of the convention center between the Hilton Hotel and Grand Avenue. To create enough space, a block of 4th and 5th st would be closed, and a parking structure would need to be razed.

The positives -
With some planning, the arena could connect inside to both the Grand Avenue Mall and to the convention center.

This allows Grand Avenue to become the entertainment complex.

This location is close to Marquette, will spark growth in the West Wisconsin Avenue are, will reinvigorate Grand Ave, and will allow for the arena to be connected indoors to a large part of downtown.

Street-level Wisconsin Avenue could turn into a pedestrian-only area like Madison's State Street with traffic diverted under/over the current street.

The top of the arena could be a green space with deer grazing, which goes along with the Herb Garden idea.

In another universe, even the proximity to the train station would be a positive as well.

The US Cellular Arena/Milwaukee Theater (MECCA Arena) site has a larger footprint and space than 9 current newer NBA arenas.

That was part of the deck and powerpoint I saw as a speculative plan created by the Milwaukee Department of City Development and Rocky Marcoux.

They have their sh_t together.

Putting new speculative arena in the Park east will only create the effect that the former freeway created, which was a wall keeping out communities, and access to city by lower economic neighborhoods. We want to create opportunity to bridge all of that in and build it up through development not just create another iron curtain wall to downtown.

Here is Marcoux himself discussing the plan, and psychology for correct city building that is wrapping in thought to how to blow Milwaukee out in right direction, not just repeat past mistakes

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/225184652.html

[trwi7]

The top of the arena could be a green space with deer grazing, which goes along with the Herb Garden ideal.

That...is insane.

[LittleRooster]

The top of the arena could be a green space with deer grazing, which goes along with the Herb Garden ideal.

That...is insane.

Insane? ... OR, brilliant!

[VooDoo7]

The top of the arena could be a green space with deer grazing, which goes along with the Herb Garden ideal.

That...is insane.

Insane? ... OR, brilliant!

How about grazing deer....and unicorns?!!

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

The top of the arena could be a green space with deer grazing, which goes along with the Herb Garden ideal.

That...is insane.

It could be done...

http://live.wsj.com/video/what-up-on-th ... 0D103E4BD1

[Newz]

I hate the idea of putting it in the valley between Poto and MP. Hate it.

I will say that if we do this I think that the downtown area would suffer, but I also think it would be a great chance for the area around Miller Park and Poto. I bet condos would start to pop up over there at a higher rate with more and more people wanting to move near to the area. I could also see them putting together some sort of transportation system that would get you from Miller, the new arena and Poto down to the Third Ward, Summerfest and the lake.

[Siefer]

I hate the idea of putting it in the valley between Poto and MP. Hate it.

I will say that if we do this I think that the downtown area would suffer, but I also think it would be a great chance for the area around Miller Park and Poto. I bet condos would start to pop up over there at a higher rate with more and more people wanting to move near to the area. I could also see them putting together some sort of transportation system that would get you from Miller, the new arena and Poto down to the Third Ward, Summerfest and the lake.

I could see that.

Though I'd prefer a new arena to be downtown, there might be more public support for an arena if it's part of a larger project in the valley.

[mchase27]

Is there any space in the Valley though?

[MikeIsGood]

The top of the arena could be a green space with deer grazing, which goes along with the Herb Garden ideal.

That...is insane.

It could be done...

http://live.wsj.com/video/what-up-on-th ... 0D103E4BD1

I.Love.Al.Johnsons. Their pancakes are **** awesome.

[MikeIsGood]

I'd have to imagine the BC has to be somewhere downtown or an area that is near it. There isn't tailgating for Bucks games so that analogy for Miller Park fails. I'd much rather have a nice downtown area even though I don't live there. Beef up on police/security since it is going to be making some money. I can't imagine driving out to a glorified parking lot for a night of entertainment. It works for the Brewers because of tailgating.

Err, I guess I agree and disagree? The analogy works fine if you understand the difference between the sports and the needs; the point is Milwaukee needs one of the best facilities in the league, regardless of sport. The Brewers lead the pack in that category, while the Bucks are among the worst. But I agree the needs are different - it's just not the point.

We need the 'Rolls-Royce' - it's just not a car.

My statement was really confusing but I'm saying it shouldn't be outside of downtown...that was really it.

Gotcha. I agree.

[paulpressey25]

Greg Matzek said the other night he spoke with Marc Marotta and Marotta told him this thing would be downtown. Don't know if anyone else heard that. Then you had that Scott Walker quote about the Park East land being ready for this thing,

I think lakefront/summerfest/3rd ward is where this needs to be, but Park East is where I think the pols will find the easy and desirable site. Low cost. No demolition needed. Can be sold as urban development project.

[Thunder Muscle]

Doesn't the Target Center have a "green" roof? Or something along those lines?

I always heard the area b/w Poto and Miller Park is so contaminated that it is ungodly expensive to clean up before you can even build --- which is why you haven't seen much for hotels, entertainment, etc go up there. Could be urban legend though...

[randybreuerfan]

Al Johnson's was the inspiration for the half-joke. as a child i would love to go to that place just because of the goats.

Charlie Sykes talked about the arena this morning. Part of his stance - why does it need public funding? Kohl and the new owners have $ enough to build it themselves. And the reason a new arena is demanded by the NBA is because of the lack of high-end amenities at the BC. So taxpayers should fund more benefits for the wealthy?

The response:

1- the arena provides a value to the community as a whole in terms of cultural options/disposable income-spending options.

2- The BC is limited in its capacity to attract events including but not limited to NBA games.

3- without taxpayer investment, the new owners have the ultimate control over where the arena is placed. businessmen without ties to Milwaukee may decide to buy land in the suburbs or in Waukesha, Racine, or Kenosha County - there, they may have a much easier way to collect on the entertainment/restaurant/commercial opportunities than they would in Milwaukee.

4- by similar logic, they could allow another city to provide the arena for them - a true 21st century NBA city like Seattle or London instead of hassling with some provincial backwater state&city not forward-thinking enough to support 21st century infrastructure.

It really comes down to what Milwaukee and its people want for the future.

I like Gimbel's idea of putting funding for a sports/entertainment complex in the mix with other cultural and civic programs. With a certain percentage of tax revenues guaranteed to flow to maintaining Milwaukee as the state's cultural center, there every several-decade 'is Milwaukee a real top 30 city?' arguments will be replaced by 'how will we continue to build Milwaukee into a world-class city?'

Why do taxpayers pay to have streets maintained? So people can participate in the economy - get to work, go to the store, get to the airport, etc. same reasoning but larger scale why taxpayers invest in culture.

...
Ultimately, the new arena can be a springboard for growth in the Summerfest/3rd ward corridor. Or it could be a new cultural icon in Milwaukee's Harbor. Or it could be used to rejuvenate W Wisconsin including the Grand Avenue Mall. Or to facilitate Park East's or the Menomonee Valley's redevelopment.

Or Milwaukee can lose the opportunity. And then we will probably be stuck with underfunded urban farms on the top of our slowly-crumbling buildings - badgers and golden eagles would find their way off the roofs - instead of prancing deer.

Where the new arena is located will benefit

[aValpo]

Al Johnson's was the inspiration for the half-joke. as a child i would love to go to that place just because of the goats.

Charlie Sykes talked about the arena this morning. Part of his stance - why does it need public funding? Kohl and the new owners have $ enough to build it themselves. And the reason a new arena is demanded by the NBA is because of the lack of high-end amenities at the BC. So taxpayers should fund more benefits for the wealthy?

The response:

1- the arena provides a value to the community as a whole in terms of cultural options/disposable income-spending options.

2- The BC is limited in its capacity to attract events including but not limited to NBA games.

3- without taxpayer investment, the new owners have the ultimate control over where the arena is placed. businessmen without ties to Milwaukee may decide to buy land in the suburbs or in Waukesha, Racine, or Kenosha County - there, they may have a much easier way to collect on the entertainment/restaurant/commercial opportunities than they would in Milwaukee.

4- by similar logic, they could allow another city to provide the arena for them - a true 21st century NBA city like Seattle or London instead of hassling with some provincial backwater state&city not forward-thinking enough to support 21st century infrastructure.

It really comes down to what Milwaukee and its people want for the future.

I like Gimbel's idea of putting funding for a sports/entertainment complex in the mix with other cultural and civic programs. With a certain percentage of tax revenues guaranteed to flow to maintaining Milwaukee as the state's cultural center, there every several-decade 'is Milwaukee a real top 30 city?' arguments will be replaced by 'how will we continue to build Milwaukee into a world-class city?'

Why do taxpayers pay to have streets maintained? So people can participate in the economy - get to work, go to the store, get to the airport, etc. same reasoning but larger scale why taxpayers invest in culture.

...
Ultimately, the new arena can be a springboard for growth in the Summerfest/3rd ward corridor. Or it could be a new cultural icon in Milwaukee's Harbor. Or it could be used to rejuvenate W Wisconsin including the Grand Avenue Mall. Or to facilitate Park East's or the Menomonee Valley's redevelopment.

Or Milwaukee can lose the opportunity. And then we will probably be stuck with underfunded urban farms on the top of our slowly-crumbling buildings - badgers and golden eagles would find their way off the roofs - instead of prancing deer.

Where the new arena is located will benefit

I don't really get why a new arena would magically rejuvenate an area and spring up excess development in a way that the Bradley Center never did, especially if it's located in the same spot. People envisioning a lot of new bars, restaurants, and hotels springing up in the area are going to be disappointed. The new arena is going to have amenities built right into the stadium, so if anything, the surrounding bars/restaurants will see less gametime traffic than they saw during Bucks games. Implying that this project is going to spring up new development wherever it's placed is the wrong approach, IMO. This is why I hope it doesn't get placed in a spot to "springboard new development" and instead gets placed in a spot where new development is already occurring. I would hope someone at least thinks about putting it by the lake where a lot of development is occurring with the Coture project. Thinking that this will make the Grand Ave Mall have 30 less bums roaming around in it is the wrong approach.

[Thunder Muscle]

I don't really get why a new arena would magically rejuvenate an area and spring up excess development in a way that the Bradley Center never did, especially if it's located in the same spot.

Someone older and/or a MKE native can maybe vouch more, but I thought when the BC was built that particular area was pretty shady and not desirable --- which I would say is now fairly safe and has a decent entertainment area with the sports bars and Old World Third St.

[bwpn gold]

The Attanasio factor could be interesting. Presumably, he would love the new arena to be built close to Miller Park to encourage greater development (hotels, restaurants, etc.) and entertainment choices for Brewers fans. In this case, it would make sense for him to invest money in both the new arena and the Milwaukee Bucks. With his help and contributions from other Wisconsin businesses and investors, the arena could possibly be 100% privately funded as a profit-making venture.

The best part of this scenario is that it might set up competition so that the politicians would have to be proactive to keep the arena in the downtown area as opposed to looking for handouts or running for cover. From a long-term perspective, you would think that a state-of-the-art arena in the downtown area is the best and possibly only chance to transform the downtown area into a first class entertainment destination. It would be particularly foolhardy to give up that possibility because the Bucks new owners are rich, the Bucks stink today and the Bradley Center looks clean if you don't look too hard.

[ReddWing]

The Bradley Center was built in an area that wasn't very desirable. It still isn't but it has less to do with crime and more to do with surrounding buildings. Block long, usually lifeless complexes like Wisconsin Center District (US Cellular Arena/Milwaukee Theater/Convention Center), Milwaukee County Courthouse/Police Administration/Safety Building/Secure Detention Facility, MATC Campus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and various parking lots/garages. Not to mention the Park East Freeway and the Pabst Brewery complex.

Not a very inviting place to live. That is beginning to change though. The Pabst Brewery is being completely revitalized with residential units, a hotel, university buildings, and offices. The Park East is starting to fill in on the East side of the River. A new arena between McKinley and Juneau could bridge the development at the Pabst Brewery to the River---tying into entertainment districts along Old World Third St. and Water St. This would be a big deal for downtown redevelopment because it replaces the moonscape that is the western footprint of the Park East. The Bradley Center could then be torn down and rebuilt with some mixed use development that would bring more life to the area.

[cameroncrazies2]

We're missing one of the most important talking points. What will the name be?!

-Harley Davidson Arena
-AT&T Arena
-Does BMO Harris buy in naming rights again?
-The Quad Quad
-Miller Coors Dome

[ReddWing]

OJ Mayo's Stomach Arena