The local debate regarding a new arena facility is just starting to heat up in earnest. While we are all very interested and want to have our voice heard, we still don’t yet have any details on an arena plan or location. As we noted in our prior article, this process is going to take some time to play out. We are only in the early innings. That said, we’d like to suggest two ways that you can help right now.
Register a Screen Name for the comments sections at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Regardless of your opinions regarding Bucks coverage by MJS, they along with the Milwaukee Business Journal are the two entities that are covering the arena debate in great detail.
We’ve gotten feedback that many of you are tired of reading MJS stories on a new arena and then scrolling down to the comments section to find gems like these:
KennyInDaBurbs – Today at 11:34am – Report Abuse
“Bucks? They stink! My hard earned tax dollars aren’t going to any millionaires playground for Nobody’s Senator but Yours to profit from. The City of Milwaukee needs to fold up and close. Put an NHL team in Brookfield if we absolutely have to do this.
Sandy On the EastSide – Today at 11:35am – Report Abuse
“We’ve got stray pets starving in our city who can’t read. If we don’t have the public money to feed and educate these cats and dogs roaming Brady Street, we certainly don’t have the money for a new arena. And the Bradley Center is still brand new for goodness sakes!
Our sense is that these comments are from the same dozen or so liberals and conservatives who basically camp out on the MJS website, waiting for a new article to hit. Then they pounce. And with the discussion of a new arena, this is a bipartisan issue, as there are curmudgeons against a new facility on both sides of the political aisle.
Given the fact that there are thousands of you who support the Bucks, we are guessing that if you simply took the time to register for a screen name at MJS, we could start to shape the debate over there a bit when a new arena article or blog post shows up.
We’d strongly encourage you to click this link NOW and register a screen name or use your FaceBook login. That way, when a new arena article hits, we can cue you up to enter the debate at MJS. Please follow us on Twitter at @SaveOurBucks so that we can keep you notified of new arena stories as they are published.
Do these MJS comments carry much public weight? Probably not. Nonetheless, they do get read by many people who click on a story link. Let’s engage in some civic (and civil) discussion over there and at least get some pro-new arena comments out in the public discourse. Again, registering for a screen name will take all of two minutes. Please do it, and then let’s have some fun!
SaveOurBucks.Com “Buck Up” Night on April 16th
We are hosting a SaveOurBucks.com night for the last home game of the year against the Atlanta Hawks. There will be a pre-game get together starting at 5:00pm at Scooters Pub on Juneau Street. Tip-off for the game is at 7:00pm central.
The idea is for you to come down to the BMO Harris Bradley Center and have a great time with fellow Bucks fans, before the Bucks head off into this critical off-season.
This is not a “Sell out the BC!” event. This is not the time nor place yet for something like that, nor do we have great confidence anyone could accomplish a sellout for a game at this time of the year, especially given the current state of the team. That said, this can be a great opportunity to get out on what we hope is a nice spring night and hang out with fellow Bucks fans.
There are more details on the event at this FaceBook link. We will also soon have at that link details on how to purchase discounted tickets for the game, courtesy of the Bucks!
More Events to Come
The road to a new arena is going to be a long and contentious path. It has been that way in every community where a new facility has been built (or not built – Seattle!) While we know that some of you do not agree with every aspect of the watchdog approach this website takes in regard to team management and “tanking,” we all are 100% behind making sure that our local NBA team is here for many years to come. So please consider our request to sign up for an MJS screen name and/or attending the April 16th game against the Hawks as the warm-up for the really important arena debates that are on the horizon.
Go Bucks! (Or get that #1 draft lottery seed if you prefer!)