Earlier this month, my colleague Andrew Wagner wrote a column in which he argued that there was no need for a new arena Downtown and claimed that the craziness of the salary structure in the National Basketball Association was proof that the aging of the Bradley Center was not the problem.

The headline said: " New Arena Not the Solution to Bucks Problems."

I like Andrew and respect him, but I can't imagine a more short-sighted argument and one that perpetuates the image of Milwaukee as a small-town, tradition-bound burg, rather than a city that welcomes difficult challenges as just that, a challenge and not a problem.

Let me show you a couple of paragraphs to explain how seriously I disagree with his column. He wrote: "Right now, there is a quiet but growing minority laying the groundwork for what will ultimately be an all-out charge to build a new arena for the city's NBA franchise, under the guise of the facility being for the city itself." And then he wrote: "Fleecing the taxpayers for a new building, especially to replace one that is only 20-some years old, is nothing more than putting lipstick on a pig."

He uses words like "guise" and "fleecing" to describe the nascent discussions about a new arena. As if somebody was trying to pull the wool over our eyes.

This is part of the anti-NBA bias that exists in Milwaukee. This kind of column feeds right into that prejudice. I've been around this city for a long, long time and I've seen that bias over and over. The Packers are revered and the Brewers are loved. But the Bucks have never been met with that same kind of devotion. The reasons are for another column. This one is about the arena.

Let me just remind everyone that Miller Park was paid for with public funds, as were the renovations at Lambeau Field. It was a fight, sure, but it got done, with public funds. It was an investment in the future and quality of life in this state and city. Does anyone really think that Mark Attanasio would have bought the Brewers if he didn't have a brand new, revenue-generating stadium to go along with the sale? Of course not.

I'm not going to go point-by-point here, but there's a lot Drew said that was true. It's just that he put a bunch of facts together and came up with a crazy conclusion. What he's got, as the saying goes, doesn't add up.

Certainly the salary schedule in the NBA is crazy. It's crazy in all sports. Comparing average salaries is silly. Take the same pot of money, say $50 million. If you divide it by the number of guys on an NBA team, 14 or 15 guys, and you've got one average salary. Divide it on a baseball team, about 25 guys, and you've got another average salary. What you've got, though, is the same amount of money being spent on players. The NFL has, by far, the most players and the highest salary nut. Sure Dan Gaudzuric is overpaid. So are Jeff Suppan and Bill Hall. And how ‘bout those Yankees?

There are plenty of examples of systems out of control. But that's not the issue here. It's not whether we can use the hammer of a proposed stadium to force the Bucks to get their financial house in some arbitrary order that we think is right.

What we need to do is approach this issue in a serious way and act like adults in these discussions. We have to realize that a professional sports franchise is a precious thing that should be guarded and protected with zeal.

There are some things we know for sure.

Herb Kohl is not going to own this team forever. He's got a lot of money, but he's not going to build an arena all by himself. When this team is sold, if we want to keep it here, we'd better have a place for that team to play that allows the owner to compete. Unlike many owners Kohl has never threatened to move or sell the team unless he got a new arena.

Another thing we know is that as nice as the Bradley Center is, the building was designed for hockey. It has a small footprint and too many dead zones. They should have more lower-level seats and better sightlines.

One more thing we know is that a downtown facility is good for a downtown. Ask the people who have bars and restaurants Downtown and in the Third Ward whether their business is affected by the basketball team. There's no doubt about their answer.

In large measure, this debate is going to be about leadership. And we may be in serious trouble on that one.

Our mayor and our county executive are each running for governor. One wants to take over the school system and the other one wants to sell off our park system. They have been, and probably will continue to be, deaf mutes on this issue.

What I hope is that we don't get too many more columns and articles about how a new arena isn't going to be THE answer to the problems for the Bucks. Nobody says it's a cure-all. But it's one piece of a much larger puzzle. A puzzle we are all going to have to work together to solve.