Bradley Center, BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee Bucks

Which comes first? Ticket Sales or the Product?

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SaveOurBucks.com celebrates two-months in existence today, and with that milestone we want to address the topic of ticket sales and home-game attendance.

A few folks have asked why SaveOurBucks.com is not aggressively advocating that people buy tickets to Bucks games. Some who pose that question, do so from the standpoint of believing ticket sales to be the best way to keep the team in Milwaukee. Another small subset of fans, who are not comfortable with the “tough love” approach of this website ask:

“The Bucks are playing the young guys like you asked for.  Why aren’t you (and others) packing the Bradley Center now?”

Let’s hit these issues head-on in a comprehensive discussion of ticket sales and our Milwaukee Bucks. Continue reading →

Green And Growing (But Execution the Key)

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The SaveOurBucks.com movement is pleased with the recent pronouncement by General Manager John Hammond, that the team is going to build around some of the young players they currently have on the team, along with future draft picks. We believe that a market like Milwaukee must use this approach to build a consistent winner. We want to add some cautionary guidance, however, before assuming that this new chapter of “Green and Growing,” will be as successful as the original.

A primer on the origin of this phrase may be helpful for some readers. Green and Growing was the name given to a public relations campaign implemented by the Bucks in the late 1970’s. It came with its own catchy theme song that was played frequently during regular game broadcasts. The idea behind the theme, was that fans should embrace the young core of players the team had recently obtained, and follow their progress as they developed into contenders. Continue reading →

Save Our Bucks, Milwaukee Bucks

The Leadership Void

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“And then one day you find ten years have got behind you;
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun”

– Pink Floyd “Time“

We do not plan on providing commentary after individual games, and prefer to leave that to the good people at sites such as BrewHoop and Bucksketball, who do a fine job providing daily coverage. Nonetheless, we felt the need to briefly opine on last night’s loss to the Phoenix Suns, given that it illustrated many of the recurring themes we have discussed over the past month. Continue reading →

Some Trial Balloons Go Up

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“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

– Ferris Bueller

There was some pretty big news on the new arena front yesterday, but perhaps many of us were too caught up in New Year’s Eve preparations and Packer celebrations to take notice. NBA writer David Aldridge posted an interview with Senator Kohl, where Kohl talked extensively regarding the arena situation.

Since Kohl does not give detailed public interviews very often, it is likely that he initiated contact with Aldridge, in order to float some trial balloons relating to the issue of a new facility in Milwaukee. For the first time, he hinted at the percentage of the cost of a new arena that might be privately contributed toward the project. Continue reading →

What Is The Strategic Plan?

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SaveOurBucks.com has been online now for just over a month. In that time we’ve been fortunate to have coverage from Kelly Dwyer (Yahoo), Bill Simmons (ESPN/Grantland), Matt Moore (CBS), USA Today, Deadspin, The Sporting News, Darren Rovell, The Dan Patrick Show, Fox 6, WTMJ 4, WISN 12 and CBS 58 among others. However, it wasn’t until  the other day that we received coverage from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (MJS), the local newspaper of record here in Milwaukee.

You can read the article by Don Walker here. We think the article was well-written and conveys our “tough love” approach as it relates to the organization. There is one point to clarify though. In the article, Walker refers to “a mystery man funding the operation…” There really isn’t a “funder” here for operations, as the costs of creating a website are minimal, and are graciously being donated by our talented webmaster. Continue reading →

Save Our Bucks Billboard

What are the goals of SaveOurBucks.com?

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We were recently asked on Twitter by Bucks play-by-play man, Ted Davis (@Nbated), “What are the goals of SaveOurBucks.com?”

Long-term, we’d hope this site can be an information source and rallying point for fans, as the Milwaukee community debates the merits of a new arena. In the short-term however, our goals are to spark discussion and accountability regarding the franchise’s efforts in producing a compelling product for the fans to rally around. If the Bucks are able to present to the public an exciting team, we believe the fans will return. However, to get to that point Senator Kohl needs to rethink how he has structured his front office and the culture therein.

As we’ve documented here, the front office culture the past twenty years may be contributing to the challenges the team faces. The front office has a number of Executive Vice Presidents who have been with the team for decades. All of these people provide input on basketball related decisions, even though many are not basketball people, but rather attorneys and accountants.  Here are some examples of their dysfunctional involvement in basketball decisions, as documented by BrewHoop. Continue reading →