Steve Costello has literally watched the Bradley Center grow from a hole in the ground into a modern and evolving center for all kinds of entertainment, serving the entire region.

Now, Costello and his staff are charged with keeping the facility relevant for a third decade in the middle of rough economic times and an evolving market for sports and venues.

In a sit-down interview with OnMilwaukee.com, the Bradley Center's president and CEO discussed the state of the facility, the changing economic climate, the challenges of booking events in a building with four major tenants and prospects for the future.

Born in New York state, Costello studied business at Syracuse University. He and his wife, Lori -- a Milwaukee native -- reside in Milwaukee.

OnMilwaukee.com: A little about yourself?

Steve Costello: I came to Milwaukee -- though I feel like a native -- in 1987, halfway through construction of the center. So I've basically been here since its inception. I came from another venue -- went to school and worked at Syracuse University. I worked there from about 1980 to 1987, when I came to Milwaukee. I was there when the university was trying to maintain big-time sports and was building the Carrier Dome. I had a chance, through people I knew there, to come to Milwaukee and be a part of this very special project. I fell in love with the city, met my wife here and the rest, as they say, is history. It's been a great 22-year ride.

OMC: I was looking at the Bradley Center schedule of events this morning, which is kind of like a work schedule for most sportswriters. There are an awful lot of events at the building, has it become your second home?

SC: (laughs) It's become my first home sometimes!

OMC: You've been able to watch the building grow and evolve during your time here, but as the Bradley Center has come into the new century, Downtown has also changed a great deal in the last 22 years.

SC: It's been a great experience. I've grown up in Milwaukee and seen the city grow with the facility over the last two decades. I'm still in awe of the special nature of a public assembly building. People come together and enjoy so many different events. There are so many wonderful vocations in the world and so many different ways to make in impact on people around you but this is one that's fun, exciting, entertaining, hard work.

As the building continues to age and we confront the inevitable challenges of keeping a top tier venue still relevant, still serving the community and fans well and still meeting needs of teams and other users. There are challenges, but it's been a great ride.

OMC: Many markets have multiple sports teams, but is it fairly common to have the NBA, major college basketball and hockey all in the same building?

SC: It's not uncommon, but it's certainly not that common, especially in a market of Milwaukee's size. We had five teams early on when the Wave played here, but there just weren't enough Friday and Saturday nights to accommodate five teams. Go figure. Four teams is unusual -- four winter teams, especially -- but not unheard of. We're one of the busiest buildings out there and for a market our size, I would put Milwaukee and the Bradley Center up against any facility in the country in terms of events and visitors and teams.

OMC: With so many teams playing roughly at the same time of year, how do you juggle the schedule to accommodate everybody? Like you said, there are only so many Friday and Saturday night dates to go around.

SC: Scheduling and programming can be an interesting challenge. It's something I very much enjoy. I continue, with staffers, to work on it regularly. Date selection is critical. We work closely with our winter anchor tenants to make sure everybody is happy. Finding great dates to route towards shows to Milwaukee on a Friday or Saturday night can be difficult.

OMC: Do you find it difficult to attract people to shows scheduled during weeknights?

SC: We had Metallica on a Monday night and it was a very good turnout. It was a great show and we had an enthusiastic audience. Of course, we could have had an even bigger turnout if we could have had it on a weekend. There are times we have to tell an artist or an agent that we just don't have a particular date available. You hate to do that, but in the peak of winter, it does happen.

OMC: Milwaukee is located very close to the Chicago market and isn't far from the Madison and Minneapolis markets. Plus, there are a lot of venues here in the city vying for acts and peoples' entertainment dollars. How does that impact the programming and scheduling?

SC: The Bradley Center won't compete with the Riverside and some of the wonderful things that Gary (Witt) and Matt (Beringer) do there and at The Pabst Theater. We're competing with a certain level against other local venues, but being a bigger venue, we don't go into direct competition. Milwaukee is a major market, but yes, we're close to Chicago. There are a dozen great markets in the Midwest and we're competing every day for the top tier of shows. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose.

We have a wealth of venues in town. I'm not sure people in Southeast Wisconsin always appreciate how blessed they are to have so many wonderful choices at their disposal. In summer, you have all the outdoor events; festivals, Summerfest, Jazz in the Park. In addition, there are things at The Pabst and Riverside doing amazing things and the Wisconsin Center and PAC.

There are a lot of shows occurring in Milwaukee and I think that's very positive. It does make for challenges at times. An artist may wonder if he'll be successful in Milwaukee with so much going on. Sometimes, even smaller markets could get a bigger and more unique show because there won't be as much competition in the market. Milwaukee has a lot going for it. It's a very competitive market, regionally and nationally. That's some of the fun and challenge of our business, finding the right show and date, positioning it against other shows by promoting and marketing it and reaching the targeted audience.

OMC: The schedule dies down in summer, once the tenant teams have finished the seasons. But with all of the events you mentioned -- Summerfest, especially -- how difficult is it to book acts in the summer to fill out the calendar?

SC: People love being outdoors after being cooped up all winter. There's Alpine Valley not too far away and a number of outdoor country music festivals. There's a lot going on in the summer. We have done some shows during the summer, but most of our shows tend to come during the fall, winter or spring because the options are so much greater.

OMC: The Bucks are considered the building's main tenant and it's widely-publicized that the team is trying to find new ways to bring in money. The Bradley Center has added some new things, like the Courtside Club and has renovated suites for a club-like experience. Is this kind of renewal an ongoing thing?

SC: I've learned, just like in life, that nothing is static. Things are always changing. Certainly that's the case with a venue. It's a living, breathing facility that constantly has to be maintained, improved, updated and adapted to the trends and what's happening in business. We have to pay close attention to what kind of features and amenities fans want. We want to deliver. Finding ways to enhance the business and add new amenities to a 20-year-old building -- which doesn't sound old by most standards -- is a process.

OMC: It's hard to believe we're calling a 20-year-old building "old."

SC: It is, it is. I mean, I'm almost 50 and we're talking about a 20-year-old building. But, in our business, old is a measure of how much things change over time. So, yes, in that regard, it's an "old" building and we're faced with the challenge of how much we can change ourselves and continue to find ways to add amenities and add and increase opportunities to generate revenue for the center and our teams, especially the Bucks. Those are front-and-center issues we're dealing with on a daily basis. On a parallel course, we work very hard to maintain the building and promote various events. And we work hand-in-hand with our teams to enhance their products.

OMC: Along those lines, I walk around the building and it doesn't seem like a 20-year-old facility. It's clean, it's well-maintained. The building is in good shape. We hear about the need for new revenue and amenities, so I have to ask: can this building, for the next 10-20 years, continue to be home to an NBA franchise without massive changes?

SC: I don't know that there's an easy answer to that. There are a lot of different perspectives. I think, at the end of the day, the Bradley Center is still performing as it did in 1988 and, arguably, its doing much more than it did then. Still, it's not what a modern, circa-2009 venue is. Can we survive and thrive for a number of years? Absolutely. But we still have to find ways to maintain an aging facility. Increasingly, that takes money.

The Milwaukee Bucks and the Bradley Center have a very close and interwoven relationship that's evolved over many years. Clearly, the senator (Herb Kohl) cares about the community and the team being here. We face the challenges together. We'll keep working on ways to make it viable for a period of time. But 10, 15 ... 20 years down the line, the jury's out. The community as a whole will have to work to sort through those issues.

For the here and now, for the next few years, our focus is on continuing to maintain the building and moderately enhance and upgrade it to stay viable for all of our tenants. The rest will take care of itself. Sometimes it takes time and you don't know what path you'll take to get there. Our venue is an important place to come together. It's become a hub for people to gather.

OMC: The economy is hard for everybody right now; how is that impacting the Bradley Center?

SC: I don't think its hindering anything, specifically. But we're feeling the effects, for sure. Fans are more conscious about how much money they spend to go to games or concerts. All of that is part of any retail or service business. We're off to a good start, halfway through our season. The Bucks are playing well. The Admirals and Marquette are having great seasons. We've had some good special events with good turnout. Certainly, we don't take anything for granted and know that times are tough. We're focused on the next couple years and we're cautiously optimistic that we'll ride through this rough period.

OMC: What's on the wish-list for the next few years?

SC: The biggest thing we've talked about is the need for a new scoreboard. This one still works really well. It was a great investment and puts out a great image. But at the end of the day, we need to start planning for a replacement and that's a multi-million-dollar investment. It's a really important fan amenity, too. Scoreboards have evolved over the last few years. They went from being a square box to a more organic and integral part of the building that defines both the venue and fan experience. It's important, too, for helping to deliver sponsor messages. Our combined goal between the Bradley Center and our teams is to try and find a way to get that done in the very near future. We know we want to address the scoreboard and that's our No. 1 priority.

OMC: The Bradley Center is in a unique position when it comes to such improvements because it's a non-profit corporation. Basically, improvements are funded by revenue. How is the Bradley Center's financial status?

SC: Yes, we're a non-profit corporation. There's probably a pretty widespread lack of understanding of how the Bradley Center operates. We're an instrument of the state of Wisconsin. In effect, we're owned by the state. Having said that, unlike many if not most state institutions, we receive no state support or funding, whatsoever. We're financially self-sustaining. There is no tax revenue to support us. We're charged to operate and maintain the facility for the good of the community. We're an independent entity with a board of directors appointed by the governor.

OMC: Is there any progress on a long-term lease with the Bucks?

SC: We've been kind of year-to-year the last several years on a lease. There's not a lease covering the current year, but the parties are talking regularly and we expect that we'll come to some agreement on terms. It's a challenge for both parties. The Bucks need better support than we're able to provide. We have no supplemental funding to support the center and, after two decades, there are things we have to do to keep the building in shape for all that use it.

OMC: And all those improvements are funded by ticket revenues.

SC: That's correct. In most cases, improvements have been funded from operations and reserves in the plant fund. On occasion, we've borrowed when we thought it was prudent and we felt there would be a return on our investment.

SC: We do have a developer that we've worked with and have an ongoing relationship with. With what's happening in the economy, we're still working on that and looking at it as is our partner. There's nothing imminent. But as the Bradley Center, the Bucks, our community look at and consider the long-term needs of this wonderful public assembly venue and what it will take to sustain it as an NBA venue; we think strategically the land around the center is important.

Rarely in the center's history has there been such a wonderful opportunity to really create a land-use master plan for areas in the core of the city. We think the land is really important and that the city, country, state and stakeholders should keep exploring how the land can best be put to use for the good of the community. We think there's a role we can play to benefit the community. What will that be? Nobody knows yet. It's early in the process.

OMC: In two decades, this building has been home to some great sporting moments. Do you have a favorite?

SC: There have been so many thousands of events, where do you start? Each of our teams has had truly memorable moments here. The 2001 NBA Eastern Conference Finals ... the building was just electric. The Admirals have had championship teams here. I'll never forget Marquette's first year in the Big East when they knocked off Connecticut at home in the first Big East game. There have been some great sports memories. We've had NCAA basketball; the Badgers won the NCAA hockey championship here.

OMC: What about music? Are you a music fan and are there any particular concerts that stand out for you?

SC: I'm an enormous music fan. It's something I'm really passionate about. I love listening to different kinds of music, even in my old age. I love discovering new artists. Music is a real thrill. And it's a bigger thrill when we book a show. The excitement of knowing that we might get a show and that you're in the hunt. Then, once you've got the show, knowing you've got it and nobody else does. We've had some great music here, be it Springsteen or emerging artists. There's been a wonderful variety.

OMC: Is there a show or event you'd like to see at the Bradley Center?

SC: NCAA basketball every other year. All three teams deep in the playoffs. On the music front, a lot of artists I'd like to see, even ones that have been here before. Prince is a good example. A couple years ago, we had Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones and U2 in a six-week span. An incredible triple-header of mega acts.

We want to provide the best in music, sports and special events in the world and help bring that level of entertainment to Milwaukee. It charges me up and we're optimistic that we'll have success. I don't know what the next big event is going to be, but I'm cautiously optimistic we'll have some great events in 2009.