The state and Milwaukee County have already approved their part of the $250 million-plus-interest in public financing.
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The BMO Harris Bradley Center will be torn down for the new arena.
The proposed new Milwaukee Bucks arena took another step forward Monday, with the Plan Commission declaring a parking structure as surplus property so the city can give it to the basketball club.
But Alderman Mark Borkowski, who voted no, said the city’s high poverty rate raised questions about whether Milwaukee could afford to spend $47 million on the project. Now it’s time to get to work creating jobs and building a better Milwaukee – not just for the Bucks, but for all citizens of this great state.
The committee proposed taking all of the naming rights revenue for the city, which is something that posed a serious problem for Bucks officials.
Even when negotiations were tough, I never stopped advocating for a deal that would ensure that all of Milwaukee, across all socio-economic lines, would benefit from our partnership with the City and the Milwaukee Bucks, and today that is a reality.
It appears the Common Council will continue debating whether there will be a public plaza. In addition, if the closure of the street is approved the city will retain the right to regain control of the street in the future if the Bucks do not utilize the plaza as much as the organization says it intends to. The city’s package also includes a new parking ramp. That commitment was key to many supporters of the arena project. “Wherever he might be, we’re always going to be cautious with him”.
“There isn’t the purchasing power in this community to support all of this”, he said.
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The Bucks said they hope to play in the arena for the 2017-’18 basketball season but Mike Fascitelli, team executive and co-owner, said he doesn’t think it will be ready until the following 2018-’19 season.
