New Bucks Arena A Necessity
The Milwaukee Bucks are at a crossroads of sorts and they will need to choose which path they want to take by the year 2017. The fork in the road right now is whether to build a new stadium, or leave Milwaukee. The BMO Harris Bradley Center is the oldest stadium in the NBA. Due to its age, it is falling behind on league expectations and regulations. The Milwaukee Bucks’ contract with the BMO Harris Bradley Center is up in 2017. This contract has made up a natural deadline for new owners Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry. This deadline has been issued by the NBA and it states that if the Bucks don’t have plans for a new arena by 2017 that they will be forced to sell the team back to the NBA. The NBA would then take them to another city that has a proper stadium to house them. The city of Seattle is often brought up during these talks. The Milwaukee owners and former owner Herb Kohl have both vowed to donate money toward this effort but now they need our help. The ball is in our hands Wisconsin, and the shot clock is on, its time to make a decision.
The Bucks were sold from former senator of 25 years and Owner of nearly 30 Herb Kohl, with one stipulation, that they had to be kept in Milwaukee. Herb Kohl also pledged to donate one hundred million dollars towards a new arena. The new owners Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens also pledged to put in a minimum of a hundred million dollars to match Herb. With a new 21st century entertainment center estimated to cost 4-5 hundred million dollars, these two donations would be putting the Bucks about halfway to getting a new Stadium. This has certain people such as Robert Edelman of the Journal Sentinel are ignorant to the Benefits of a new Arena and the consequences of not building one. They create hypothetical negative externalities, while ignoring the glaring positive externalities. Building a new stadium will keep the team in Milwaukee which will help towards Wisconsin’s GDP and create jobs for building the stadium temporarily lowering the unemployment rate.
Also it will be able to host the Marquette Men’s Basketball Team and the Milwaukee Admirals. Not to mention various other events that come to Milwaukee such as Monster Truck Rallies, The WWE, Concerts, and the Harlem Globetrotters.The new arena will in addition be more handicap accessible as the BMO Harris Bradley Center is not up to code in the way of handicap accessibility. The new stadium will excite the community when thinking of the Milwaukee Bucks and their young talented team of Brandon Knight, Giannis “Greek Freak” Antetokounmpo, the 2nd pick in the 2014 draft; Jabari Parker. A new arena like the one drawn out by the Milwaukee Bucks is an attraction that will bring the community closer and has a much larger marginal benefit than cost.. The upside of the new stadium is ignored from Robert Edelman’s article. His article regarding a new stadium points out problems that don’t exist. He is more worried of the de minimis amount of money coming out of taxpayers’ pockets.
A common belief is that a pro sports team can be a key driver of economic growth, but he is skeptical of this because when Los Angeles lost the NFL’s Rams to Saint Louis they didn’t experience a deterrence in economic growth. This is because Los Angeles has eight other Professional teams with two MLS teams, two NBA teams, two NHL teams, and two MLB teams. We are not Los Angeles. We have two Professional teams. Losing the Bucks would be losing 50% of our professional sports team and in the process a part of Wisconsin culture. If the Bucks were forced to leave the Admirals would soon follow suit. after they left, Marquette would then need to build a new stadium and would most likely come back to the government to campaign for public spending to help build a new facility; talk about throwing salt in the wound. Right after we deny the bucks a new arena we go out and help Marquette out a little while after.
One of Robert Edelmans arguing points was poor attendance. About fifteen to twenty years ago the Brewers were in the same boat as the Bucks are today, and at the time the Brewers were performing similarly to the Bucks last year. They were towards the bottom of the league. We solved this with a new stadium. After completion of the stadium, attendance doubled in the first year at Miller Park despite having an even worse record. Historically our beloved Brewers are Wisconsin’s worst professional sports team yet somehow they managed to talk the city into helping them out with a new stadium. Today another Milwaukee sports team is crying out for our help to stay here. They want to stay here so they can perform for our great fanbase of Milwaukee and were going to give them the cold shoulder? Now that’s just wrong. How many times do you hear a group of people say that they want to be in Milwaukee over someplace else. Not often. We are willing to let them go to Seattle because we aren’t willing to drop a dime on something that will help Milwaukee and Wisconsin grow economically? Many restaurant and sports bar owners state that the 41 nights that the Milwaukee Bucks are in town are their 41 busiest nights of the year.
Letting the Bucks leave is a mistake and that is why I urge you to help the Milwaukee Bucks in their time of need. It would be an example of the invisible hand. Us helping them would ultimately help ourselves as well. Also help them so we don’t turn out like Seattle. They had an up and coming young Sonics team just like the Bucks do now, and had to watch them succeed in Oklahoma City with envy. We want… no we need to keep the Bucks so we can celebrate their future success in Milwaukee.
Works Cited
Edelman, Robert. "Resist Bucks' Blackmail." Another View. JS Online, 11 Nov. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/we-should-resist-blackmail-by-milwaukee-bucks-b99229715z1-251344871.html>.
I agree with you 100% that allowing the Bucks to change their location would be a bad decision. After all, they are, the MILWAUKEE Bucks. Having them here allows the people in our area the option to buy tickets to see their games and brings in a lot of money for the community. Even though it would cost a lot to build a new stadium, it would be worth it in the long run as more people would be inclined to go and spend their money circulating it into the economy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the fact that they should not move their location due to the fact as Alyssa mentioned too that they are the Milwaukee bucks. However creating a new stadium would help our economy and could possibly bring in more money for the bucks now that they have some better players as well. This is a really tough decision for the Bucks and hopefully it will help in the end no matter what the decision is.
ReplyDeleteYou address several benefits for why the Bucks should build a new stadium and stay and Milwaukee. I am in agreement. If the Bucks were to go, the local economy would suffer. Bars would lose precious Bucks fans, sports stores will lose the ability to sell Bucks merchandise, and many BMO Bradley Center employees would lose their jobs. In order to maintain and even improve the local economy, a new stadium must be built.
ReplyDeleteI love the bucks for than anyone else in this school, but you're right behind me. The bucks don't want to leave the great city of Milwaukee, they want to stay! The NBA will have to buy the bucks to relocate them to a better stadium and where maybe they'll get more fans. Also, the Admirals and Marquette wouldn't leave because the Predators wouldn't pay that much money to transfer and hockey team and Marquette is a private school and the stadium is perfectly fine for there basketball team. Overall it was very good. Go Bucks Go!!!
ReplyDeleteI believe that a small percentage of tax should be taken form Milwaukee residents to help pay for this new stadium. For year, the Bradly Center has been home to many concerts, basketball games, hockey games, and a ton of other large events. Having a new stadium would also bring in a much larger audience for all event for at least the first few years. That is based off of how many people came to the Brewers games in the first couple of years that they played at Miller Park, and It's been pretty steady ever since.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Bucks should stay in Milwaukee since they're a Milwaukee basketball team and it would make no sense to build a new stadium out of Milwaukee.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that it would cost a lot of money at the beginning but it would be worth it, and besides the team would be able to pay back the money lent through the tickets sold. A new stadium will make it able for more host teams to come and that will be economically beneficial.
As you said it would also help create jobs in Milwaukee since they would need people to build it.
If the Bucks moved then they would lose a growing fan base in Milwaukee. Building a new stadium would be worth the cost because we now have Giannis, Jabari Parker and Brandon Knight so the team is now coming out of the trough and into the peak. This will mean more people want to go to the games which means a bigger stadium is needed to hold those people. The building and all the new ticket sales would put more money into circulation therefore helping the economy.
ReplyDeleteIt is way too weird to try and comprehend Wisconsin without the Bucks. Although they might not be considered one of the best teams in the NBA, they have been a part of our culture for 46 years. Before having the Bucks, we didn’t have a NBA team. We shouldn’t allow this to happen again. It’s nice to have a team in the NBA to root for; while we are supporting them, they are supporting us back economically. Instead of thinking about ourselves and the amount that will be taken out of our paycheck, we need to step back and see the big picture.
ReplyDeleteThe Bucks have always been a part of Milwaukee and it's hard to believe that they could move to another city. Since the fan base is growing and the new arena is being built it seems that it would be a bad choice to move them. This would also help stimulate the economy, because construction companies would have a lot of work. Also the companies that make the materials needed for the new stadium would have a lot of work as well. The team could pay this back and with a little increase in taxes, it could easily be paid off.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Bucks should make a new stadium so they don't end up getting sold back to the NBA and end up being deported to a new city, most likely located outside of Wisconsin. The Bucks bring in a large revenue to Wisconsin's economy. If a new stadium was built, not only would the Bucks be using it, but like you said, many other events would be hosted there as well. Temporarily, the unemployment rate would definitely go down if a new stadium was to under-go construction. The Milwaukee Bucks are a very important part of Wisconsin and play a huge role in our economy.
ReplyDeleteIt may be a fortune to build a new stadium for the bucks, but it would be a beneficial factor for the city to keep the Bucks in town. Not only does it bring in another team from somewhere else, but it also brings in revenue to restaurant around the area to those fans to have dinner, and revenue to the team from those that want to attend a game. Yes, the BMO Harris Bradley Center holds many showcases between sports and concerts, but building a new stadium in general that can hold the exact same activities, it can bring in more revenue, and build economic value in the city. Along with that, it not only creates a better building, but it does create more jobs for those that are desperate for a job, or looking for more money. Lastly, with a new stadium, it would lead to allowing more fans, or people in general, to come to games, and it would create more revenue for the team.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad but a lot of people in Milwaukee are bandwagons and since the Bucks have not been good at all the last couple years nobody has been going out to the games. But now that we have a new, well known, motivated coach in Jason Kidd I don't think that the future of the Bucks has been brighter. Once this team is able to jell together you will be looking at a very young, and athletic squad. Just by watching the Bucks this year compared to last year you can see the strides the "Greek Freak" is making and how Jabari has already added to the scoring of the Bucks. People can't see it right now but give this team 5 more years and I believe they will be something special. Once that happens you will see the amount of ticket sales increase which will help the Milwaukee economy. But I have faith in the new owners and agree with the vision that they have with this Bucks team, so I believe it will get done and be able to help the city of Milwaukee in the long run.
ReplyDeleteI strongly believe that the Bucks should stay in their hometown of Milwaukee. When you look at all of the positive benefits that a stadium brings to an economy why would you want the impact. By building a new stadium that will help Wisconsin GDP go up creating more jobs. There jobs would be jobs such as construction jobs to build the stadium. By looking at both sides of witch way people should build the stadium or not. They should because there is a bigger marginal benefit than the cost.
ReplyDeleteThe Bucks are truly woven into the fabric of our city and it would be a true shame if we ever had to see them go. As one of only 17 still functioning teams to have won an NBA championship we should be doing whatever we can to support the Bucks in their quest to build a new stadium. However, you bring up a few points in this article that I must disagree with. You stated that the Admirals would leave town simply because the Bucks would leave and that simply is not the case. The Bradley Center was initially built for hockey and is one of the best AHL (Highest Minor league of hockey) home facilities, if the Bucks were to leave this would almost benefit the Admirals not having to change the courts every night to accommodate for their neighboring Bucks. Also Marquette, the other tenant to the Bradley center would not be able to ask for public funding as they are a private university. Overall great article and I hope that the Bucks can remain in Milwaukee.
ReplyDeleteHi I'm Ryan Harris. I was excited to see this, because I'm a bigger Bucks fan than Conner O'malley. Conner actually has a low key burning love for the Sacramento Kings. Go Bucks! This is a very important subject you are showing the public. I think the Bucks are great and would hate to see them go. To be honest, I am a bit skeptical on our chances of actually being able to build a new stadium. I am cherishing every game the Bucks have now. :( I believe that if everyone in Wisconsin donated three dollars to the Milwaukee bucks, they will live to fight another season. The Bucks belong to Milwaukee and shouldn't be sent anywhere else. This will psychologically traumatize me.
ReplyDeleteI totally think that society should chip in some money into building a new stadium for the Bucks. This building of arena would boost our economy and allow Milwaukee to continue to be home to the Bucks and the Brewers. Both of these sports teams are heavily woven into the Milwaukee and Wisconsin culture and we are lucky to have both professional teams, so I think that there should be a large effort to raise money for a new stadium to preserve our Wisconsin culture and help our economy.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the society should put aside some money towards building a new Bucks stadium. With a new stadium it will allow for Milwaukee to continue to be home for the Bucks and Brewers, and help boost our economy. With the money that the sporting events raise, helps benefit our economy; therefore I think it is important for society to chip in a little money for a new Bucks stadium.
ReplyDeleteI like your topic that you chose to write about and I definitely agree that it would be a bad idea if the Bucks changed their location, especially since they are the Milwaukee Bucks! I think that building a new stadium would benefit the Bucks bringing in more money for them and help the economy. Keeping their location where it is now allows everyone in Milwaukee and around us to buy tickets and watch them play and I think building a new stadium in the same location would attract more people to attend these games and buy tickets. Overall, I like your topic and the points you had to prove and I think building a new stadium would help the Bucks majorly in the long run.
ReplyDeleteThe Bucks are a big economic gain for the city of Milwaukee. If they were to leave the city it would have a negative impact on the economy that most people don’t realize. By building them a new stadium and allowing them to stay would be the best thing for the state of Wisconsin because there would be a very small chance that another NBA team would try and move to Milwaukee if the bucks were to leave.
ReplyDeleteI would think maybe the rich people that just bought the bucks would be able to build a new stadium. I guess not. I don't agree that we should pay for it because it's just a waste in my mind because I have no interest in basket ball so I guess I only have negative things to say but, I would assume that building a new stadium would bring more money in.
ReplyDeleteThough it would mean the community would have to take more money out of their pockets, I do believe that the Bucks should have a new stadium built. Ours is the oldest in the league, which means that every other city had a time where a new basketball stadium was being built. For cities with top teams, there was probably less complaint and more compliance, but because the bucks aren't one of the awesome teams in the league, we feel a little less willing to contribute.
ReplyDeleteI don’t really keep up to date with the Bucks, so while I knew the Bucks were attempting to get a new stadium I didn’t realize what would happen if they didn’t get a new stadium. Even though a new stadium would cost millions of dollars, most of it coming from taxpayer pockets I think it would help the local/statewide economy to purchase a new stadium. A larger stadium not only means Wisconsin can continue to own the Bucks but Wisconsin will able to host larger concerts and money earning venues, generating a profit and therefore helping the economy to grow.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't care if they move or stay but building a new arena isn't worth it economically; basketball doesn't have a big enough fan base and I don't know a whole lot of background on what's going on other than what I just read in this and heard but I think the cost would outweigh the benefit.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree that a new arena needs to be build in Milwaukee, not only for the Bucks, but also more Marquette, the Admirals and all of the other things an arena can offer to the public. I also believe that a new arena could even help stimulate growth in the economy, because so many will want to go to an event there or become more interested and visit more often. Also a new facility would bring in even better concerts and other things the public may desire over ones currently offered as performers may not want to perform there. Overall Milwaukee needs to build a new arena.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Bucks need a new arena and that the construction of a new arena would bring tons of benefits to the city of Milwaukee as well as the state of Wisconsin. The one area that I would say is a huge seller to the community is Marquette's need for a new arena as well. It doesn't make any sense to allow the Bucks to leave just to build the new arena they were begging for because Marquette now needs one, and Marquette, unlike the Bucks, can't leave Milwaukee. If we want to improve the economy and Milwaukee as a whole, we need the Bucks and all the economic profit they bring in to the city of Milwaukee, otherwise we might see an even sharper fall of economic growth in not only the city of Milwaukee, but also the state of Wisconsin.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting that if Milwaukee was to lose the bucks, they would lose out on both economic and cultural benefits. Even if the Bucks are bad, Milwaukee still gains economically from the Bucks because people go to the games regardless of the Bucks record and if they are good or bad to see other big stars. Plus creating a new stadium would result in new jobs for the people to make the stadium, demolish the old stadium, and staff the new stadium. Overall I think there’s much more benefit to be had rather than costs.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of the Bucks as positive part of the cities economy before, and I don't think I would've without this piece. Milwaukee has so much to gain economically from this it is a wonder there is any opposition to it all. A new arena equals many new jobs in construction and other technical areas as well.
ReplyDeleteI am a huge fan of Marquette men's basketball and have had season tickets to the Bradley Center for 5 years now, and I don't believe a new stadium is needed. It is structurally sound and looks fine for it's purpose, sure it would create more jobs but it would also cost taxpayers and the City of Milwaukee quite a bit. Then you have the US Cellular Arena nearby (now the Panther Arena) where the Admirals play that is much older than the Bradley center and in need of construction, being very old now and beaten up. I go there every year for robotics competition and while it's perfect for our purposes it seems silly to tear down the newer building as opposed to the old one.
ReplyDeletei dont thin the new bucks arena is necessary because Milwaukee has way better things to be spending millions of dollars on a new arena when the old one works just fine.
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