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Bradley Center

Location	1001 N Fourth St, Milwaukee, WI 53203-1314
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
Opened	October 1, 1988
Owner	State of Wisconsin
Operator	Bradley Center Sports and Entertainment Corporation'
Architect	Populous (formerly HOK Sport)
Capacity	Concerts: 20,000 College Basketball: 19,000 NBA Basketball: 18,717 Ice hockey: 17,800
Tenants
Milwaukee Bucks (NBA) (1988-present) Milwaukee Admirals (AHL) (1988-present) Marquette University (NCAA) (1988-present) Milwaukee Wave (MISL) (1988-2003) Milwaukee Mustangs (AFL) (1994-2001) Milwaukee Iron (AF1) (2009-Present)

The Bradley Center is an indoor arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is home to the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA, the Marquette University men's basketball team, the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL (and formerly of the IHL), and the Milwaukee Iron of the Arena Football One . It was also the former home of the Milwaukee Wave of the MISL from 1988-2003, the Milwaukee Mustangs of the AFL from 1994-2001, and the Badger Hockey Showdown from 1989-2002.

[edit] 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 (currently named the U.S. Cellular Arena), which was built in 1950. It was a gift to the State of Wisconsin by philanthropists Jane Pettit and Lloyd 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, the Bradley Center is currently the 4th oldest active NBA arena (tied with the Palace of Auburn Hills and ARCO Arena, which also opened in 1988), only behind Madison Square Garden (which is to undergo renovations in 2010), Oracle Arena (which has been significantly remodeled), and Izod Center. The lack of modern features such as revenue-boosting club seating, high-definition video boards, state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems, along with outdated heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, a deteriorating roof and exterior facade, an obsolete hockey rink system, deteriorating seating, outdated event production technology, and insufficient parking around the arena, have all contributed to the Bucks being the lowest-valued team in the NBA and near the bottom in team revenue. What makes the Bradley Center unique is that it was a gift from a family. But that gift did not include any provision for the building's long-term capital needs or annual operating expenses. That puts the Bradley Center at a distinct disadvantage, compared with other NBA arenas.^[1]

Building a new, state-of-the-art downtown arena has been proposed by Bucks owner, Herb Kohl, but community reaction to a publicly-funded new 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 Bradley Center needs $23 million in renovations, so they reportedly agreed to raise the remaining $18 million on their own.^[2]

[edit] Events

The Bradley Center hosted the Frozen Four in 1993, 1997, and 2006 plus the Great Midwest Conference men's basketball tournament in 1995.

The arena has played host for WWE events, such as The Main Event on February 5, 1988, No Way Out 2002, Taboo Tuesday 2004.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• BradleyCenter.com