MJS Story on Lasry/Edens/New Arena (Stein update on pg 10)

[mchase27]

Just read something else on JSOnline about how much it would cost to upkeep the Bradley Center, and once again you have people bringing up the **** NHL.

[Oscar71]

Funny how an article about a hockey venue would bring up hockey talk 'eh?

[Aaron It Out]

Talking about hockey makes no sense because the NHL would never put a team in the BC as it is today. That's if they would even put a team that's in the Wild market and is also right next to Chicago and Detroit.

[THE DINJ]

Let's say the NHL was interested in expanding. Why would anybody think that a city that refuses the pony up for a new arena for its existing NBA team would be attractive to them?

[BucksBrew]

Why do people keep saying the arena will cost 500-700 million?

Because it likely will be in the range of $450-550M.

New MGM arena in Vegas will cost $350 million, I just don't see why something around that price point can't get done here.

Proposed Cisco Field in San Jose could cost $400-500 million, I don't see an arena in Milwaukee costing as much as a baseball stadium. The new Braves stadium will cost $500-600 million. You really think an arena in the midwest will cost that much?

There are only 3 arenas in the NBA that cost over 400 million. When the new owners said a new arena was 400 million I thought that was high.

http://www.fromthisseat.com/index.php/blog/blog/17157-nba-arenas-construction-cost-rankings

[paulpressey25]

The cost of the arena will be dependent on the location and how many restrictions are put on the labor used. The new Las Vega arena is estimated at $350 partly because it is easy to build in Vegas as they have flat, easily accessible land, cheap migrant labor and plenty of contractors around out there always looking for the next project.

Here we may have a hard site to build on, need to truck materials into downtown streets and likely will have union and minority labor requirements that will raise costs considerably. Plus the Couture and NML tower will be going up at the same time, really adding to cost pressures.

Additional note, our friend Chariie Sykes is back taunting arena supporters on twitter.

[randy84]

The cost of the arena will be dependent on the location and how many restrictions are put on the labor used. The new Las Vega arena is estimated at $350 partly because it is easy to build in Vegas as they have flat, easily accessible land, cheap migrant labor and plenty of contractors around out there always looking for the next project.

Here we may have a hard site to build on, need to truck materials into downtown streets and likely will have union and minority labor requirements that will raise costs considerably. Plus the Couture and NML tower will be going up at the same time, really adding to cost pressures.

Additional note, our friend Chariie Sykes is back taunting arena supporters on twitter.

Ask him: If it is a good idea to use taxpayers' money to send kids to private schools, why not also pay to build a new public arena? Discuss?

[ajb905]

I'm very optimistic about the owners, loved the q&a, and while the arena battle brings out the ugly on both sides I'm hopeful this will lead to the best possible outcome of a new stadium mostly privately funded

Sent from my SGH-T999 using RealGM Forums mobile app

[Matches Malone]

Additional note, our friend Chariie Sykes is back taunting arena supporters on twitter.

I had tweeted him saying If he is now older and more wiser as he put it, does he view Miller Park as a mistake now? He hasn't replied to it and he probably won't. It is just interesting that he backed the Miller Park initiative, but when a new arena for the Bucks is brought up, he responds with a cop-out answer that he is older, wiser and more conservative. By that statement alone, one would gather that he does in fact think Miller Park is a mistake, but I would like to hear him say it first, because if he doesn't, then he is just being a troll with a microphone.

[chuckleslove]

The cost of the arena will be dependent on the location and how many restrictions are put on the labor used. The new Las Vega arena is estimated at $350 partly because it is easy to build in Vegas as they have flat, easily accessible land, cheap migrant labor and plenty of contractors around out there always looking for the next project.

Here we may have a hard site to build on, need to truck materials into downtown streets and likely will have union and minority labor requirements that will raise costs considerably. Plus the Couture and NML tower will be going up at the same time, really adding to cost pressures.

Additional note, our friend Chariie Sykes is back taunting arena supporters on twitter.

Ask him: If it is a good idea to use taxpayers' money to send kids to private schools, why not also pay to build a new public arena? Discuss?

Apples and oranges and far too political and irrelevant to this debate.

[WEFFPIM]

Apples and oranges and far too political and irrelevant to this debate.

If politics have shown us anything the last 20 years, apples and oranges have never mattered in debates.

[MickeyDavis]

As I've stated many times over the years building a stand alone arena and nothing else in order to save money would be a shortsighed mistake. You need an entertainment complex in order to have a customer for a potential 5-6 hour window. Right now, especially for Bucks games in the winter, you have thousands that drive downtown, park, go to the game and go home. They don't want to deal with the weather and the hassle of finding a place to eat/drink before and/or afterthe game. Give those people the option to eat/drink/attend events all within one place and you'll have maximum revenue. Have a high end Bartolotta (or similar) restaurant, a large sports bar/grill and some other options fans can go to without leaving the complex.

It' always seems to take Milwaukee twice as long as anyone else to make any progress but if we're going to have this battle we might as well do it right. There were many "leaders" who tried again and again to eliminate the roof from Miller Park to keep costs down.

[paulpressey25]

I'm not sure Sykes is going to stop on this. He's found a wonderful political grandstanding act, but I think he's going to take a long-term hit on it as he's got members of his audience who do like sports, the Bucks and don't want to see things here slammed while we still don't have any plans or specifics on the table.

I think the best arguments with him are:

1. Was Miller Park in retrospect a mistake? If you say "no" then you are being a hypocrite, because the new arena project has the same or greater potential than Miller Park, since it will be used 200 nights a year for many things, and the Bucks are putting in way more of their own money than Selig did for MP (zero). I think we have to lead Sykes to either say he thinks Miller Park was a mistake or he's a hypocrite.

2. Does Sykes want to see a Milwaukee based business that is worth $650 million, has $100mm plus in annual revenues of which over 50% are derived from out-of-State and employees hundreds of people leave the State?

3. Does Sykes want to squash a potential $500 million dollar construction project that will employ thousands and be a huge stimulus to this State, especially when $250 million (Bucks plus naming rights) of it is being provided for by private enterprise (Thus that $250 million won't be spent here in any capacity if there is no project)?

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

We really need some news to break, this thread is getting stale and petty at times. Hopefully the sale is finalized soon so we get some news about who is leaving and who is staying.

[MickeyDavis]

Sykes is the typical blowhard whose simplistic views are to say no to everything and never offer any alternative solution. It's easy to sit behind a mic and be against everything. It's hard to actually have to think and come up with solutions.

[raferfenix]

We really need some news to break, this thread is getting stale and petty at times. Hopefully the sale is finalized soon so we get some news about who is leaving and who is staying.

Agreed.

But if the RealGM-fueled SaveOurBucks is anything, it's a grassroots media endeavor!

Is there something positive we could do?

Maybe start a hashtag tweeting about "#MyBucksPlan to @SaveOurBucks" for anyone to tweet about what they hope will happen with the entertainment complex / team / front office etc.?

[paulpressey25]

A couple more talking points you guys should be aware of.

-There will be no property taxes coming into the City or State from a new arena. The land and building likely will be tax-exempt.

-If there are property taxes generated by private businesses as part of the complex, those taxes likely will be used to pay down bonds used to build said restaurants, etc, as part of a TIF district.

[MickeyDavis]

Agree, this thread has played out until something actually happens. And nothing can happen until the actual approval of the sale. Once we get a new GM/coach (PLEASE!) and know where we are in the lottery we'll have some new things to talk about. I don't expect much in the way of new arena news for a few months at the earliest.

[MickeyDavis]

I think a TIF will definitely be a part of the final plan.

[LittleRooster]

We really need some news to break, this thread is getting stale and petty at times. Hopefully the sale is finalized soon so we get some news about who is leaving and who is staying.

Agreed.

But if the RealGM-fueled SaveOurBucks is anything, it's a grassroots media endeavor!

Is there something positive we could do?

Maybe start a hashtag tweeting about "#MyBucksPlan to @SaveOurBucks" for anyone to tweet about what they hope will happen with the entertainment complex / team / front office etc.?

This is a really good idea. Offering up solutions and being proactive with people like Sykes.