New Arena is Only Way Forward for Milwaukee

If someone offered to pay for half of your meal at a restaurant, you’d probably say yes, right? Multiply the cost of that meal by a hundred million and you’ve got the basis of the choice facing the citizens of Milwaukee.

When Wes Edens and Marc Lasry bought the Bucks from Herb Kohl last month, it was with the understanding that the team would need a new arena. Knowing that, the two buyers, along with Kohl, committed a total of $200 million to a new arena – essentially half of the total cost.

Some of the remainder will likely come from private donations, but realistically, if a new arena is to be built, the bulk will have to come from public sources, probably from a new tax. And that is where things get complicated.

Anytime someone brings up a new tax, no matter how small, people freak out. For instance, the sales tax used to pay for Miller Park is 0.1 percent. What that basically means is that for every $10 a person spends in the Milwaukee area, they will have to pay one extra cent, which goes toward paying off the stadium. Despite how insignificant it is, there are still people very upset about that tax.

Other people will say that Milwaukee doesn’t need a new arena, that the Bradley Center is perfectly fine. If you’re okay with the Bucks leaving for Seattle in three years, then, yes, the Bradley Center is fine.

Argue all you want about the Bradley Center’s merits, but simply put, the Bucks and everything they bring to the city will be gone if a new arena isn’t built by 2017. NBA commissioner Adam Silver has said that himself, and the sale of the team to Lasry and Edens includes a clause that allows them to sell the team back to the league if an arena deal isn’t struck by 2017. And the NBA won’t take a lesser deal just to keep the team here like Kohl did.

It’s not just about the Bucks, either. If Milwaukee wants to continue to draw top-level entertainers to downtown, it won’t hurt to have a state-of-the-art arena. The Admirals and Marquette basketball also call the Bradley Center home, but the Admirals don’t draw enough fans and Marquette plays too few games to sustain the center without the Bucks.

We’re already halfway there. It’s up to us now, Milwaukee. We can make a serious statement that Milwaukee is moving forward, or sit on our hands and watch as the Bucks leave and downtown gradually becomes deserted. If you believe in this city, there’s only one acceptable option.