BMO Harris Bradley Center

BMO Harris Bradley Center
Construction
The B.C.


Former names	Bradley Center (1988–2012)
Location	1001 North Fourth Street Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53203 United States
Coordinates	43°2′37″N 87°55′1″W / 43.04361°N 87.91694°W / 43.04361; -87.91694Coordinates: 43°2′37″N 87°55′1″W / 43.04361°N 87.91694°W / 43.04361; -87.91694
Owner	Bradley Center Sports and Entertainment Corporation
Operator	Bradley Center Sports and Entertainment Corporation
Capacity	Wrestling: 18,800 Concerts: 20,000 College basketball: 18,850 Basketball: 18,633 (1988–1997) 18,717 (1997–present) Ice hockey: 17,845 Indoor soccer: 17,800
Broke ground	October 20, 1986
Opened	October 1, 1988
Construction cost	$91 million ($182 million in 2016 dollars^[1])
Architect	Populous Kahler Slater Torphy Architects Zimmerman Design Group^[2]
Structural engineer	Thornton Tomasetti^[3]
Services engineer	M-E Engineers, Inc.^[4]
General contractor	Huber, Hunt & Nichols^[5]
Tenants
Milwaukee Bucks (NBA) (1988–present) Milwaukee Mustangs (AFL) (1994–2001) Milwaukee Mustangs (AFL) (2009–2012) Milwaukee Admirals (IHL/AHL) (1988–2016) Marquette Golden Eagles (NCAA) (1988–present) Milwaukee Wave (MISL) (1988–2003)

The BMO Harris Bradley Center (originally Bradley Center) is an indoor arena located on the northwest corner of North 4th and West State Streets in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

It is home to the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA and the Marquette University men's basketball team. It is also the former home of the Milwaukee Wave of the MISL, from 1988 to 2003, the original Milwaukee Mustangs of the AFL from 1994 to 2001, along with the second incarnation of the team from 2009 to 2012, the Badger Hockey Showdown from 1989 to 2002, and the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL (and formerly of the IHL) from 1988 to 2016.

History

The arena was opened on October 1, 1988 with an exhibition hockey game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Edmonton Oilers. At $90 million, it was meant to be a modern replacement of its current cross-street neighbor, The MECCA (now named the UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena), which was built in 1950. This arena was built for an NHL expansion team; instead, the Milwaukee Admirals moved in. The MECCA, during much of its time operating as an NBA facility, had the league's smallest seating capacity, holding just over 11,000 people. Funds to build the Center were donated as a gift to the State of Wisconsin by broadcaster Lloyd Pettit and his wife, Jane Bradley Pettit, in memory of Jane's late father, Harry Lynde Bradley of the Allen-Bradley company.

Despite being one of the premier NBA facilities when completed in 1988, it is currently one of the oldest active NBA arenas (The Palace of Auburn Hills in suburban Detroit and ARCO Arena (now Sleep Train Arena) in Sacramento, California also opened in 1988), only behind Madison Square Garden in New York City (which was renovated in 2011), and Oracle Arena in Oakland (which was significantly remodeled during the mid-1990s). The donation from the Pettits did not include provision for the building's long-term capital needs or annual operating expenses. While the facility is self-sufficient, in recent years its tenants have been at a disadvantage compared with other NBA teams due to the arrangement.^[6]

Building a new, state-of-the-art downtown arena was proposed by former Bucks owner and former U.S. Senator Herb Kohl, but the community reaction to the idea of a publicly funded arena has been mostly negative. In 2009, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle included a provision in the state's capital budget seeking $5 million in state bonding support to renovate the Bradley Center. The Bradley Center's board of directors told state officials that the building needs $23 million in renovations, so they reportedly agreed to raise the remaining $18 million on their own.^[7]

Over the summer of 2010 the arena's longtime Sony Jumbotron scoreboard was replaced with a new 3.5-million-pixel LED unit manufactured by TS Sports and Lighthouse Technologies, and was put into service in October 2010 at the start of the Admirals season. Unlike many other NBA and NHL scoreboards however, the bottom panel also has an LED screen, allowing display of many images above the floor itself rather than a static image of a sponsor or team logo.^[8]

On May 21, 2012, the Bucks' then-owner Herb Kohl and representatives from BMO Harris Bank announced that the bank had officially purchased the naming rights for the Bradley Center, and it would now be called the "BMO Harris Bradley Center".^[9]

Replacement

Further information: Milwaukee Bucks Arena

On September 18, 2013, then-deputy NBA commissioner Adam Silver toured the arena and found it unbefitting of an NBA team. Silver said that the building was a few thousand square feet short of NBA standards, and also lacked numerous amenities.^[10] The NBA issued a mandate requiring the Bucks to relocate, or be close to completion of a new facility, by 2017. On April 16, 2014, Bucks' owner Herb Kohl announced an agreement to sell the franchise to New York hedge-fund investors Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens. The deal included provisions for $100 million each from Kohl and the new ownership group, for a total of $200 million, toward the construction of a new downtown arena.^[11] On July 15, 2015, the Wisconsin Senate approved funding for the new Milwaukee Bucks Arena by a 21-10 margin, and on July 28, 2015, the Wisconsin State Assembly approved funding by a 52-34 margin.^[12] On August 12, 2015, Governor Walker signed the arena spending plan at Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin.^[13]

Notable events

The arena hosted the NCAA Frozen Four finals in 1993, 1997 and 2006 and the Great Midwest Conference men's basketball tournament in 1995.

Diana Ross was scheduled to perform during her Return to Love Tour on July 16, 2000, but the show was cancelled, due to low ticket sales.

Lady Gaga brought The Monster Ball Tour to the arena on September 2, 2010 to a sold out crowd.

Early auditions for the tenth season of American Idol were held at the arena on July 21, 2010.

Justin Bieber brought his Believe Tour to the arena on October 21, 2012 to a sold out crowd.

The arena hosted Taylor Swift's Speak Now World Tour on June 8, 2011. During which, the event was broadcast on national television during the 2011 CMT Music Awards when Swift accepted the award for Video of the Year via satellite. She did not attend the awards ceremony in order to perform the concert.

The BMO Harris Bradley Center also played host to the first UFC event in Wisconsin: UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle on August 14, 2011. UFC 164 was also held at the arena on August 31, 2013.

The Bradley Center has been a fixture for World Wrestling Entertainment since February 1989 when it hosted The Main Event II, where the Mega Powers of Macho Man Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan "exploded", setting up a match between the two stars at Wrestlemania V. Shortly thereafter, WWE's ratings fell and they began using the smaller MECCA for shows, but they have since returned and the Bradley Center has hosted WWE Pay Per Views No Way Out (2002), Taboo Tuesday (2004), and Elimination Chamber (2012). The Bradley Center also regularly hosts Raw and Smackdown.

The Bradley Center hosted P!nk's Truth About Love Tour to a sold out arena, on January 9, 2014.

The Bradley Center was a host site for second and third-round games in the 2014 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, for the sixth time since 1992.

On September 25 and 26 of 2015, Garth Brooks performed 3 separate shows at the arena during his World Tour along with his wife Trisha Yearwood and Country newcomer Karyn Rochelle.

Bruce Springsteen's sold out show on March 3, 2016 is his eighth time playing the venue, the most of any artist. ^[14]

Images

Southeast entrance.
The arena set up for a Milwaukee Bucks game in 2005.
The arena set up for a Milwaukee Admirals game in 2011.
The arena set up for a Milwaukee Iron game in 2009.

References

↑ "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
↑ "2010-2011 Milwaukee Bucks Media Guide" (PDF). Milwaukee Bucks. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
↑ "Sports & Entertainment" (PDF). Thornton Tomasetti. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
↑ "Projects: Professional Sports Arenas". M-E Engineers, Inc. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
↑ "BMO Harris Bradley Center". Ballparks.com. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
↑ Walker, Don (December 13, 2008). "Bradley Center a Home-Court Disadvantage". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
↑ Walker, Don (March 26, 2009). "Doyle Budget Includes Help for Bradley Center". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
↑ Walker, Don (June 10, 2010). "Bradley Center Unveils Details of New Scoreboard". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
↑ Walker, Don (May 21, 2012). "Naming Rights for Bradley Center Sold to BMO Harris". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
↑ Kirchen, Rich (September 18, 2013). "Incoming NBA Commissioner Silver Says Bradley Center Unfit for League". Milwaukee Business Journal. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
↑ Walkers, Don (April 17, 2014). "Kohl Sells Bucks for $550 Million; $200 Million Pledged for New Arena". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
↑ http://fox6now.com/2015/07/28/wisconsin-assembly-approves-milwaukee-bucks-arena-deal/
↑ https://sports.yahoo.com/news/wisconsins-walker-signs-nba-arena-spending-plan-milwaukee-163923927--nba.html
↑ http://www.bmoharrisbradleycenter.com/news/detail/concert-announcement-bruce-springsteen-the-e-street-band

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Events and tenants
Preceded by MECCA Arena	Home of the Milwaukee Bucks 1988–2017	Succeeded by current
Preceded by Knickerbocker Arena Albany, New York	Host of the Frozen Four 1993	Succeeded by Saint Paul Civic Center St. Paul, Minnesota
Preceded by Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, Ohio	Host of the Frozen Four 1997	Succeeded by FleetCenter Boston, Massachusetts
Preceded by Value City Arena Columbus, Ohio	Host of the Frozen Four 2006	Succeeded by Scottrade Center St. Louis, Missouri

Current arenas in the National Basketball Association

Eastern Conference

Atlantic	Air Canada Centre Barclays Center Madison Square Garden TD Garden Wells Fargo Center

Central	Bankers Life Fieldhouse BMO Harris Bradley Center The Palace of Auburn Hills Quicken Loans Arena United Center

Southeast	American Airlines Arena Amway Center Philips Arena Time Warner Cable Arena Verizon Center

Western Conference

Northwest	Chesapeake Energy Arena Moda Center Pepsi Center Target Center Vivint Smart Home Arena

Pacific	Oracle Arena Sleep Train Arena Staples Center Talking Stick Resort Arena

Southwest	American Airlines Center AT&T Center FedExForum Smoothie King Center Toyota Center

Current arenas in the American Hockey League

Eastern Conference	Blue Cross Arena (Rochester, NY) Cross Insurance Arena (Portland, ME) Dunkin' Donuts Center (Providence, RI) Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena (Binghamton, NY) Giant Center (Hershey, PA) MassMutual Center (Springfield, MA) Mile One Centre (St. John's, NL) Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza (Wilkes-Barre, PA) Oncenter War Memorial Arena (Syracuse, NY) PPL Center (Allentown, PA) Ricoh Coliseum (Toronto, ON) Times Union Center (Albany, NY) Utica Memorial Auditorium (Utica, NY) Webster Bank Arena (Bridgeport, CT) XL Center (Hartford, CT)

Western Conference	Allstate Arena (Rosemont, IL) AT&T Center (San Antonio, TX) BMO Harris Bank Center (Rockford, IL) BMO Harris Bradley Center (Milwaukee, WI) Bojangles' Coliseum (Charlotte, NC) Citizens Business Bank Arena (Ontario, CA) H-E-B Center at Cedar Park (Cedar Park, TX) MTS Centre (Winnipeg, MB) Quicken Loans Arena (Cleveland, OH) Rabobank Arena (Bakersfield, CA) SAP Center at San Jose (San Jose, CA) Stockton Arena (Stockton, CA) Valley View Casino Center (San Diego, CA) Van Andel Arena (Grand Rapids, MI) Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines, IA)

Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball

Venues	Marquette Gymnasium (1922–1974) Milwaukee Arena (1974–1988) BMO Harris Bradley Center (1988–present) Al McGuire Center (practice)

Culture & lore	"Ring Out Ahoya" "Jump Around Guy"

People	Head coaches NBA players

Seasons	1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16

NCAA national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

Basketball arenas of the Big East Conference

Men only	Allstate Arena (DePaul) BMO Harris Bradley Center (Marquette) CenturyLink Center Omaha (Creighton) Dunkin' Donuts Center (Providence) Madison Square Garden (St. John's) Prudential Center (Seton Hall) Verizon Center (Georgetown)

Women only	Alumni Hall (Providence) D. J. Sokol Arena (Creighton) McDonough Gymnasium (Georgetown) Al McGuire Center (Marquette) Sullivan Athletic Center (DePaul) Walsh Gymnasium (Seton Hall)

Both sexes	Carnesecca Arena (St. John's) Cintas Center (Xavier) Hinkle Fieldhouse (Butler) The Pavilion (Villanova) Wells Fargo Center (Villanova)

Milwaukee Bucks

Founded in 1968 Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Franchise	Franchise 1968 Expansion Draft All-time roster Draft history Seasons Head coaches Current season

Arenas	MECCA Arena BMO Harris Bradley Center New arena (open appx. 2018)

General Managers	Erickson Embry Nelson D. Harris Dunleavy Weinhauer Grunfeld L. Harris Hammond

D-League affiliate	None

Administration	Owner Wesley Edens & Marc Lasry General Manager John Hammond Head Coach Jason Kidd

Retired numbers	1 2 4 10 14 16 32 33

Hall of Famers	Lew Alcindor Nate Archibald Dave Cowens Wayne Embry Alex English Bob Lanier Moses Malone Oscar Robertson

NBA Championships (1)	1971

Conference Championships (2)	1971 1974

Culture & lore	The Big O Bango The Fastest Expansion Champion MECCA Court The Coin Flip Fear the Deer

Media	TV Fox Sports Wisconsin Jim Paschke (play-by-play) Gus Johnson (part-time play-by-play) Jon McGlocklin (color) Marques Johnson (part-time color) Radio WTMJ Ted Davis Dennis Krause

Milwaukee Admirals

Founded in 1970 Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The Franchise	History Records Players Current season All articles

Arenas	Milwaukee Arena (later MECCA Arena) BMO Harris Bradley Center

Coaches	Claude Noel Lane Lambert Kirk Muller Ian Herbers Dean Evason

Rivalries	Chicago Wolves Peoria Rivermen Rockford IceHogs

Calder Cup	2004

Affiliates	Nashville Predators (NHL) Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL}

Milwaukee Mustangs

Founded in 1994
Folded in 2001
Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The Franchise

Arenas

Bradley Center

Head Coaches

Saban
Haege
Trigg
Frazier

Playoff Appearances (4)

Hall of Fame Members

Seasons (8)

2000s	1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Milwaukee Mustangs

Formerly the Milwaukee Iron Founded in 2009 Folded in 2013 Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The Franchise	Franchise Seasons

Arenas	The Bradley Center U.S. Cellular Arena (playoffs)

Head Coaches	Compton Landsee

Playoff Appearances (1)	2010

Division Championships (1)	2010

Current League Affiliations	League: Arena Football League Conference: American Conference Division: East Division

Retired Numbers	3 5 8

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, May 05, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.