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Now that the state's biggest nest of vipers has put all the noise aside and passed the measure to provide $250 million of public funding for a new Downtown arena, attention turns to the next steps.
The deal will have to navigate two more processes before groundbreaking can take place. The Milwaukee Common Council must approve the plan to spend $47 million to build a parking structure. And the Milwaukee County Board will have a chance cloud the air with rhetoric over the sale of the Park East land to the Bucks for $1.
County Executive Chris Abele can sell it without approval from the board, but they are going to scream loudly just to prove they can get headlines as dramatic as a loose lion in the city can get.
It sure looks like we are actually going to get the new arena in time for the 2017-18 NBA season but along the way there are still a number of questions.
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Question: Is there still any chance that politicians may screw this up?
Answer: Not a chance in hell. -
Question: Is that beautiful rendering we’ve seen of the new arena what it’s going to look like?
Answer: Not a chance in hell. The rendering was kind of rushed so that everyone could get some kind of idea what they were voting on. But Eppstein Uhen Architects, the local firm partnering with big boy Populous, will come up with something that can be done and that will combine fancy with function. Populous is a world-class design firm so we are most likely to get something very special. But don’t get attached to the rendering. -
Question: What’s going to be the name of this structure and how much will naming rights bring in?
Answer: The cost of naming rights is unknown but somewhere between $1.5 and $3 million might be in the ballpark. Those figures are comparable to other arenas in cities the size of Milwaukee. As for who gets to do it, there are local candidates. Jim Kacmarcik is a minority owner in the team and president of Kapco, a metal stamping first. He never tires of getting his name in public and he could afford it. So could Ted Kellner, president of Fiduciary Management and a minority owner in the team. Another minority owner is Valerie Daniels-Carter, who owns dozens of Burger Kings and Pizza Huts. Of course, we need nicknames for the arena so if one of those three buy the rights we could say, "We are going to The Kap, The Fid or the Burger." Hmmmmm. -
Question: Will the Bucks make the groundbreaking a celebration for fans?
Answer: Normal groundbreaking ceremonies in Milwaukee have some officials, a few of their employees they make show up and a television camera from a station with no news judgement. The Bucks have shown a love for opportunity for fans to gather and have fun. The groundbreaking would be a great opportunity. Bucks’ dancers wearing those rigs that are worn by stadium vendors passing out brats and hot dogs. A couple of players with shovels. The Milwaukee Symphony playing the new Bucks music theme (they have to get a new theme written). It could be lots of fun. -
Question: Can we all take a deep breath now?
Answer: Kind of. There’s a lot of work still to be done, but most of it is without controversy. Perhaps one of the most interesting is working with the state on a development agreement that will play a huge role in the actual construction. But now it is really time to return to being a fan of Bucks basketball and stop worrying like crazy about the arena. Let’s cheer for wins on the court instead of victories in the halls of politics.
