This morning, the Milwaukee Bucks and Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin health network (MCW) announced the organizations will partner on developing two new health-oriented facilities in Downtown Milwaukee: a new practice and training facility for the Bucks, as well as a medical office building and health center for the near North Side.

"Together, we're going to create a pair of facilities that will set a new standard for player care, sports science research and community health in which this city has never seen before," said Bucks President Peter Feigin at today's press conference, held at the site of the new Downtown health center. 

The new practice and training facility, called the The Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Sports Science Center, will be located at the corner of North 6th Street and West Juneau Avenue, adjacent to the new Downtown arena site. There, MCW physicians will develop training and rehabilitation programs for the team's players, as well as serve as a base for further athletic performance, sports medicine and injury prevention research. The Sports Science Center will also serve as a destination for community athletic camps, coach training and education programs. 

"Discoveries and developments here will pave the way for new treatments and care options not just for the athletes, but for all of us," said Cathy Jacobson, President and CEO of Froedtert Heath, adding, "Froedtert and MCW and the Milwaukee Bucks are together for the long haul, and we are completely committed to making a real and sustainable impact in this community."

As for the near North Side medical office building, the Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin McKinley Health Center – the organization's first in the Downtown area – will move into the approximately 37,000-square-foot site located at North 6th Street and West McKinley Avenue. The center will offer Downtown and near North Side residents primary care, orthopedic and sports medicine, physical therapy and rehabilitation services, and imaging and lab services.

According to Jacobson, the center is looking at opening next fall. 

"Cathy used this phrase, 'being in the heart of the city' ... I know you need a strong heart to have a good body, and we have to have a strong heart in this community – and that's not just Downtown; that's the areas around Downtown as it leads into the neighborhoods," said Mayor Tom Barrett, who was also in attendance along with Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton, Bucks head coach Jason Kidd and other community leaders. "We're leaving Downtown here and heading north to one of our most impoverished neighborhoods, and having this commitment that close to that I think speaks volumes as well."

"Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin represents a significant investment in this broader development that will not only provide critical services to surrounding communities, but will also contribute to the vibrant urban environment we envision for this previously vacant portion of land that we're now sitting on," Feigin said. 

Today's new developments come in addition to the Bucks and Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin's unveiling of the Froedtert & MCW Learning Center announced last month for Carmen High School of Science & Technology. The program's mission is to train over 300 students and adults in the neighborhood over the next five years to be career-ready in the fields of medicine and IT.

"As an organization, our mission is twofold," Feigin said. "One is to bring a championship back to Milwaukee. And the other, as importantly, is to play a leading role in the transformation of this city to build a stronger, safer and healthier, more vibrant community."