Mar 17, 2016 Ahead of submitting extensive design plans to the city for approval today, the Milwaukee Bucks released an updated set of renderings of the new multi-purpose arena planned to anchor a world-class sports and entertainment district in downtown Milwaukee. These images reflect the plans submitted for the final stage of the design approval process with the city and local public officials before construction on the new arena can begin this summer. The images of the new multi-purpose venue and entertainment district illustrate the ambitious new development vision of Bucks ownership to transform 30-acres of mostly vacant land into a vibrant neighborhood activated by sports, entertainment, residential and office uses. The arena site, located between N. Fourth Street and N. Sixth Street from W. Highland Ave. to W. Juneau Ave., will seamlessly link with active development on all sides, including Old World Third Street, Schlitz Park, The Brewery, the Milwaukee riverfront, Water Street and the Wisconsin Center. “We’re just months away from seeing the new home of the Milwaukee Bucks and our collective efforts to revitalize Milwaukee begin to move from vision to reality,” said Bucks president Peter Feigin. “These plans reflect the commitment of our ownership, generosity of Senator Kohl and historic collaboration with public officials to build a world-class sports and entertainment destination in the heart of downtown Milwaukee. We look forward to working closely with public officials and the entire community over the next several months to finalize the design and construction plans so that we can begin to create long-lasting jobs and economic opportunity in Milwaukee.” The exterior design for the new arena is inspired by Milwaukee’s proud architectural heritage and bold outlook, coupled with the region’s natural environment of rivers, lakes and forests. The hand-crafted zinc patina exterior, punctuated by nodes of glass to highlight activity within, will create an iconic architectural image that will anchor the surrounding development. The 714,000 square foot arena will be home to Milwaukee Bucks basketball and countless sports and entertainment events. The arena design features an intimate bowl optimized for basketball viewing with the majority of the seats in the lower level closer to the action, while still providing the flexibility to host hockey games, end stage and center stage concerts, family shows, circuses and ice events, as well as open-floor exhibitions. Both the upper and lower levels will load from the top down, creating a more efficient seating pattern free of breaks. The design caters to the next generation of fans, featuring open and transparent concourses, additional social spaces within view of the action, and a variety of experiential and premium seating options. Additional operational efficiencies include vastly improved load-in/load-out capabilities that will allow the facility to accommodate a wider variety of concerts and shows. The Bucks tapped Populous last year to lead a group of prominent global, national and local architects including Wisconsin-based firms Eppstein Uhen and HNTB for the new arena and master plan of the entire development. “The hand-crafted zinc and glass exterior wraps the energy of a multi-purpose arena full of social gathering spaces and a new public plaza extends the development as a year-round catalyst for the transformation of downtown Milwaukee,” said Brad Clark, senior principal at Populous. “Inspired by the natural beauty of Wisconsin’s rivers, lakes and forests, this new Wisconsin landmark will stand out as an iconic addition to the cityscape and seamlessly connect with surrounding neighborhoods.” “Bringing this arena to fruition is certainly the first big step in creating the vision for the arena district neighborhood, but it will also serve to represent our city and state in a way that we have not seen before,” said Greg Uhen of Eppstein Uhen. “People will be amazed at how well this new venue enhances the experience for all patrons, not just for world class NBA basketball, but for all events hosted here.” @NBAsxn Looks dope, their current stadium is pretty small and outdated, but definitely a cool place to watch a game.
Mar 17, 2016 I'm not sure how I feel about it yet...although, anything would be an upgrade from the current Bradley Center. It'll be interesting to see how they prevent snow/ice from sliding off that roof and falling on people in the spring/whenever there's a warm up.
Mar 17, 2016 Yeah also a good move moving it to a better location. I think they have a plan to build a practice facility not too far away. That s--- goes a long way with FA's.
Mar 17, 2016 f---ing looks mint. Never been a fan of the Bucks but they're headed in the right direction.
Mar 17, 2016 I've been a fan of Milwaukee beers, never been to Milwaukee but if this arena gets built, I'm def going.
Mar 17, 2016 Kinda a weird design on the outside at first glance, but I'm sure it'll be nice on the inside. I was at Bradley center in 2009 and thought it was fine but then again I'm not too picky about arenas usually.
Mar 18, 2016 I mean there's nothing wrong with it, but it's pretty d--- small. They got a young up and coming team now so this is the best time. Still gonna be half full of Bulls fans everytime we play there
Mar 18, 2016 Giannis and Jabari are future stars and I can see future FA vets wanting to come here and play with these guys. I was afraid they wouldn't get the new area deal done and Milwaukee would end up like Seattle. Watching their team leave and become a power house. Never been to a game when Bulls are in town but I hear it's mostly Bulls fans. I go to about a dozen Brewers games a year though and it's the same when the Cubs come to town. Feels like an away game.
Mar 18, 2016 Sky is the limit for Giannis, all he has to do is because an average jump shooter. Jabari has shown flashes in what's basically been his rookie year. It's ironic how much these Bucks resemble those young Sonics/Thunder teams as well. Glad they're staying because it's a great rivalry for both cities.
Mar 18, 2016 Yeah it's certainly the right business move, I'm not denying that. Just saying to me as a basketball fan it doesn't make a huge difference lol, but either way I doubt I'll be back in Milwaukee since I'm living on the west coast now and not in Minnesota anymore.
Mar 18, 2016 Badly want to see the bucks reach the finals. It'd be great for the city and something for them to get behind. Brewers s--- and look like they will continue to for a while. Wisconsin loves the Packers and the Brewers no matter what but the unless the Bucks are winning there's no real excitement. That conference finals back in 2001 is still one of my favorite series ever. 7 game series vs one of my favorite players ever in Iverson. Cassell, Allen, Robinson, man was that team was great and I still feel like the Bucks won that series and should've been in the finals. However LA vs Milwaukee isn't as interesting as LA vs Philly
