Fiserv Forum Expected to Boost Milwaukee’s Economy
In August 2018, the Fiserv Forum officially opened to the public as a new sports area that was to replace the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Located in downtown Milwaukee, the new arena is predicted to boost the economy with new jobs and a new neighborhood, despite critiques of how the arena was paid for.
The Fiserv Forum is expected to bring around 1200 new jobs in the arena as well as the surrounding area with wages starting at $12.50, thanks the the Milwaukee Area Service & Hospitality Workers Organization (MASH). Peter Rickman, executive director of MASH, gave his opinion of the new area by saying “Jobs that comprise a disproportionate share of employment and disproportionately employ workers of color include those in food service, hotels, retail, janitorial, and the like. Our community must transform these jobs into family-supporting jobs to rectify the racial and economic injustices and inequality that ravage our city.” The new arena is also the epicenter of a new 30 acre mixed-district that the Bucks owners plan to develop over the next 10 years as a means to provide more business to Old World Third Street as well as provide the highest quality entertainment to locals and visitors alike. However, this arena is not just about sports but will also host concerts, comedians, and possibly the Democratic National Convention, should Milwaukee win the bid. All these events are expected to boom business in the downtown Milwaukee area with its restaurants, gas stations, and shops.
However, not all are pleased with the new Fiserv Forum because $250 million of public funds was used to paid for the new arena. In 2015, the state Legislature approved a deal and the deal was signed into law by Gov. Scott Walker to use public funds from the Wisconsin Center District, the state, the City of Milwaukee, and Milwaukee County. Many taxpayers were displeased with the fact that they were paying for a new arena they potentially will not use; especially when the money could have been used for education or infrastructure. State senator Tim Carpenter believes that the $250 million could have been put to use in more helpful was, stating that other public buildings and attractions, such as the Mitchell Park Domes, Milwaukee County Zoo, and Milwaukee Public Schools, have a greater need for public funding than the arena project did. The taxpayer dollars used for the arena were a “missed opportunity,” he said.
Despite complaints from some taxpayers, the new arena is here and is expected to boost the economy of the City of Milwaukee and Wisconsin as a whole. The state government had to weigh out the trade offs and ultimately made the decision to fund the $250 million to help construct the innovative arena. Only time will truly tell if the decision will pay off by greatly improving the economy and boosting business in the greater Milwaukee area.
Works Cited
Meyer, Maredithe. “Welcome to Fiserv Forum.” BizTimes Media Milwaukee, BizTimes Media Milwaukee, 21 Aug. 2018, www.biztimes.com/2018/industries/arts-entertainment-sports/welcome-to-fiserv-forum/.
Newcomb, Tim. “Milwaukee's Fresh Design Of New Fiserv Forum.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 4 Sept. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/timnewcomb/2018/09/03/milwaukees-fresh-design-of-new-fiserv-forum/#3fa179b224eb.
The Fiserv Forum is amazing. Personally I have been to the Fiserv Forum twice in the last month and I am making plans to go to the forum as much as I can. Compared to the BMO Harris Bradley Center the Fiserv Forum is incredibly advanced and feels like a state of the art stadium. It might be nice to notice that because of how nice the stadium is and how well the Bucks are doing, the Bucks have sold a record amount of season tickets this year and the numbers should only go up. Also, Cleveland has recently made a new stadium and they are the hosts for the NBA Allstar Game. I believe that soon Milwaukee will definitely be one of the next hosts of the Allstar game and boost the economy. I believe that in the coming years the Fiserv Forum will significantly improve the economy of Milwaukee and Wisconsin as a whole.
ReplyDeleteIt is crazy how much money went into the new arena. I agree that this money should have went towards things that are more meaningful such as public schools, especially in Milwaukee. Some public schools in Milwaukee are struggling and could have used just a small amount of the 250 million dollars that was put into the Fiserv Forum. The BMO Harris Bradley Center, that is currently being demolished, was a huge part of history in the downtown area. The people who created the Bradley Center built it mostly by raising money from people who wanted to donate. That arena was perfectly capable of hosting not only bucks games but also hockey games and concerts. In the new Fiserv Forum, there is no ice for hockey and is only for basketball. They could have made the arena useful for more activities which could help the economy even more instead of just using it more basketball and concerts.
ReplyDeleteThey did spend way too much money on this. I agree with allie, they should have spent the money on more meaningful things such as public schools in Milwaukee to renovate and add to them. I can not believe they are tearing down the BMO harris center as again allie said, it was a huge part of Milwaukee. This was selfish since its only for the bucks too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with others that the fact that tax payers paid for the stadium is a problem, when much better things could have been done with the money. But, with more concerts and events coming to the Fiserv Forum, the Milwaukee economy will be benefiting greatly. By making the area around the stadium nicer as well, people will not just come up for a concert, but for the weekend, creating more visitors to the city and boosting the economy.
ReplyDeleteSports venues are a political trap. Whoever set the precedent of the government subsidizing the construction of the local sports arenas doomed the rest of the United States governments into doing the same thing. Nobody wants to be the state congressman that made the Bucks move to LA, but you also don't want to spend 250 million dollars on a shiny new arena, especially when said sports team could barely fill the old one unless they were playing against the warriors. Not only that, but they also fail in their stated goal of providing economic benefit to the area. Bars in the area have less business on game nights because regulars stay away from the traffic, which they probably should given that they would have a 12 dollar burger and 6 dollar light beer regurgitated upon them by a rowdy middle aged white man with marriage troubles if they showed up on the random Tuesday night that a Milwaukee Bucks game is scheduled for because they are the Milwaukee Bucks and hitherto recent developments, for the past 40 years have been a c list team in a small market. On top of that, it's not as if the owners of the team aren't good for 250 million. Of the five, 4 are hedge fund managers, 3 of which are worth at least 2 billion. The fifth guy is Aaron Rodgers. Seeing that the average american spends more than 6 times their average income, any new sports stadium should be constructed with gold plated I beams and concrete ported in from the dismantled remnants of the pyramids of Giza. At the same time, the state congressmen that are in charge of approving the 250 million dollar subsidization are caught in the bind of needing to appease their constituency. No congressman is going to be the congressman that moves the Bucks to LA, therefore 250 million dollars is put onto the sacrificial incumbency altar.
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