Tag Archives: Save Our Bucks

Q & A: Tribal Gaming and the New Arena

EDITORS NOTE: Since we published this piece earlier this morning, a spokesman for the Governor said the decision to not approve the Kenosha casino is final and will not be revisited. For those looking to understand all angles of this decision, this Q&A is still helpful for many trying to learn more about a complicated issue. Since initial publication, we’ve added a spreadsheet below to weigh out the benefits and risks.

By now you’ve all heard the report from WISN AM1130’s Mark Belling that reportedly the two tribes involved in the proposed Kenosha casino project will offer to pay the public portion of a new arena, which could be as much as $220 million dollars or more. In exchange for this “donation” to the new arena, Governor Walker would need to reverse his decision last month and approve the Hard Rock Kenosha Casino project that is being sponsored by the Menomonee Tribe of Wisconsin in conjunction with the Seminole Tribe from Florida.

We could have written a 10,000 word essay on the history of tribal gaming and how we arrived at this point, but for now let’s go with this Q&A. Please read it in its entirety as we try to walk through the entire situation in a logical flow. Continue reading →

GOP Stakes Out Arena Position

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In the week after Governor Walker set forth his arena funding proposal, a number of key GOP legislators have now offered their thoughts on the chance for passage as part of the 2016-17 State budget.

The viewpoint of most can be summed up in this interview that Channel 12’s Mike Gousha just posted with State Representative John Nygren. In the interview, Nygren highlights that he thinks Walker’s plan makes fiscal sense and has merit. However, he also makes clear that he views it important the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County come up with some financial aid as well. Nygren notes that he’d prefer the State funding component be $100 or $150 million dollars rather than the $220 million proposed by Walker. Here are our brief thoughts on where things stand. Continue reading →

Walker’s Arena Proposal: Thoughts and Questions

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It was an exciting day for Bucks fans as Governor Scott Walker presented his arena financing plan this morning. Does this mean we are home free? Is NBA basketball now secure in Milwaukee for decades to come? Not yet. There are still some battles to come in the coming months. We will need all of you to be ready to have your voices heard with your State and local legislators. We will have details shortly on some events that you can participate in to show your support for the project, so we’ve got some work to do.

All that being said, if you assume Bucks fan angst over the team relocating is a malady that began around 2003 when Senator Kohl almost sold the team to Michael Jordan, we are probably 95% through this. We’ve still got to get through that last 5% that will entail LED outlining their site plans and the politicians lining up to hopefully make this funding plan a reality.

We have a few thoughts and questions from this morning’s press conference. So let’s get this started!

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Scott Walker Steps Up

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For those of you just catching up on the news, the concept of the Bucks remaining in Milwaukee for the long haul just had its single most important day since Senator Kohl announced the sale of the team last April.

As reported by Rich Kirchen in the Milwaukee Business Journal, Governor Walker’s proposed 2016-17 State budget will include provisions for state income taxes paid by NBA players to be used to fund the principal and interest payments on tax-exempt bonds to be issued to fund an estimated $200 million dollar public contribution to a new arena. This is what has been referred to in the media as the “jock-tax”.

Most observers had expected Walker to be the last domino to fall in the sequence of events to allow for a new arena. Conventional wisdom called for the Bucks to propose a plan, the public and politicians to debate it, and, at the end of that debate Walker to weigh in with his thoughts. Continue reading →

New Arena Sites Narrow – Our Thoughts

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Don Walker has a new piece up noting that the Bucks are narrowing the new arena site choices down to areas in Park East and vicinity. We encourage you to read the piece as background before you read our thoughts on the options being considered. The site location debate is coming to a head and most parties expect some announcement to be within the next 30-60 days. As always, we’ve some opinions on things, so let’s go! Continue reading →

We’ve Reached an Inflection Point…..

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The Save Our Bucks billboard went up approximately one year ago. Since that time, it has been a great ride to be a Bucks fan. A new ownership group, winning the #2 overall pick, drafting Jabari Parker, strong arena momentum and the emergence of Jason Kidd as a top tier coach among other things have all been tremendous developments. Nevertheless, the franchise right now finds itself at an important inflection point as it relates to developments on and off the court. Over the next 60-days, Bucks ownership will have to come to a resolution on two critical issues that will impact the next decade of basketball in Milwaukee.

The first inflection point is how the Bucks should approach their roster going forward, given the Jabari Parker ACL injury. We address that topic in Part I below. A future Part II will take a look at the arena situation given the apparent reluctance of Journal Communications to sell their building, resulting in the Bucks needing to postpone the site selection announcement while they sort out alternate locations.

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The Bucks Are Back in Town

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| By: SOB Spokesman Paul Henning | Follow Paul on twitter @brewcitypaul

While Bucks new Head Coach Jason Kidd preached patience for the Bucks young players as they develop on the floor, new Bucks owners Marc Lasry & Wes Edens spoke about finalizing an arena site by the end of the calendar year.

New owner Marc Lasry and coach Jason Kidd.

The Bucks new era didn’t waste any time getting to work this week. From the Cultural Task Force Meeting on Monday morning at the Milwaukee Public Museum to discuss possible funding mechanisms to the Cousins Center where players took pictures and spoke with members of the media, the City of Milwaukee was abuzz with the task at hand. Build a championship team. Build a new world class arena to revitalize downtown Milwaukee and keep the Milwaukee Bucks tradition alive in the City of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin. Seems easy enough right?

It will be no easy task, but the Bucks are loaded with resources to compete and succeed in both battles this season. Starting with the talent on the floor the Bucks have added arguably the best college player from one of the best programs in the country in Duke star Jabari Parker. We’ve always argued you need Top 5 pick talent to succeed and we are adding him to budding star Giannis Antetokounmpo who spent his summer competing for Greece and currently stands 6’11, a full two inches taller than when he was drafted.

Bucks fans haven’t seen a duo this talented since the days of Ray Allen & Glenn Robinson, but we have to remember it took 4-5 years before that duo saw any real success. So while we will hopefully see many flashes, this season is a developmental year focused on our young players honing their craft.

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Uihlein Letter Potentially a Game Changer

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Yesterday, David Uihlein, the son of BMO Harris Bradley Center benefactor Jane Bradley Pettit, released a public letter advocating that the community tear down the BMOBC, tear down the Arena (or Mecca or Milwaukee Panther Arena if you prefer) and also tear down the Milwaukee Theater. On said land should go a new arena wrote Uihlein.

Before going further, we encourage you to read the coverage of this letter by Don Walker at MJS here and/or the coverage by Rich Kirchen of the Milwaukee Business Journal here as both provide excellent summaries of the letter itself and background for our commentary below.

When we first saw this story, we tweeted out that it might be game-changer. No, a mere letter won’t build a new arena, but the content of the letter will bring about some needed dialogue on a number of fronts: Continue reading →

What to Build and Where to Build It?

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Summer league is complete, LeBron and Love are settled in Cleveland, Packer season is upon us and the Brewers are in a tight division race. All reasons why the NBA and new arena will likely slip from the minds of Bucks fans for the next 60-days.

We want to use this opportunity to offer our thoughts on where the new arena should be located and how the building should be designed taking into account some of the lessons learned from the 1985 construction of the Bradley Center. Strap in and let’s go!

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The Two Words that Saved Our Bucks – “New CBA”

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Are the Bucks saved yet? Not quite. We’ve still got that messy arena project ahead of us. Only when the new arena is underway can we relax under the assumption the team is then locked into Milwaukee for the long-haul.

That said, it has become evident to us over the past week that when fans and NBA historians will look back at what saved the Bucks, the answer will be clear: The turning point was the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement (“CBA”) between the players union and the owners that came about as a result of the lockout.

Senator Kohl and his staff were critical players behind the scenes in the negotiation of this agreement, primarily as it relates to how small markets are treated. Did the small markets get everything they wanted with the 2011 CBA? No, but it becomes clearer by the day they got enough, as evidenced by LeBron James decision to return to small-market Cleveland. Let’s discuss!
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