Photo credit: Fiserv Forum
While the Milwaukee Bucks are the reigning NBA Champions, the 2018-19 season may have been the most important year in Milwaukee basketball history.
According to a new study from Pickswise, the Bucks ranked in the top five franchises in the NBA in terms of attendance percentage for the past three years. The study, however, goes as far back as 2011-12, when Milwaukee ranked 25th out of 30 franchises. Examining the numbers, the Bucks stayed in the lower half of the league’s attendance until 2017-18, and jumped to third in terms of attendance percentage the year after. The Bucks have made the playoffs every year since the 2016-17 season, and at that time, a young Giannis Antetokounmpo was turning heads as the potential future of the NBA, winning the Most Improved Player award that year. However, according to the statistics, fans weren’t turning up at a Bradley Center that was on its last legs.
Everything changed in 2018, when Fiserv Forum opened its doors. Granted, the team was making a turn for the better at the same time, creating the perfect storm for Milwaukee sports fans. Giannis won his first MVP award in 2018-19, and it was coach Mike Budenholzer’s first season in Milwaukee, as well. The Bucks also won their first playoff series in 17 years, making it to the Eastern Conference Finals before ultimately being bounced by the Toronto Raptors. While the NBA Championship dreams would have to wait a few years, they weren’t completely laughable, as had been the case just a few short years prior. In that season, Milwaukee jumped from an 89.3% full building on average to 101.5%, utilizing standing room only tickets when the seating bowls had reached capacity. Last year, that number increased to 102.1% attendance on average.
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When it was first announced in 2015, there was considerable skepticism in Milwaukee about building a new basketball-focused arena. Even before that, there were grumblings about it from all angles (including, yes, Shepherd Express.) However, the Bucks organization, aided by the team’s play on the court, has successfully justified building a new arena and then some.
VISIT Milwaukee recently released that the team’s championship run alone generated roughly $57.6 Million in spending to Milwaukee. Beyond basketball, the world-class facility has attracted arena-level music tours that would have otherwise skipped the city in favor of Chicago and Madison dates. For those that do not wish to buy tickets inside the building, the Deer District, once labeled as the “live block” outside of Fiserv Forum, has hosted 5k runs, yoga, farmers markets and more.
Any way you slice it, there have been positive outcomes stemming from the investment in the Milwaukee Bucks and Fiserv Forum. Perhaps, as the Bucks’ continue to play at a high level, we’ll see even more Downtown developments as a byproduct.
