The BMO Harris Bradley Center will be completely demolished within six months.
The grand opening of the Fiserv Forum poses big questions for the nearly 30-acres of land surrounding the new arena. Arguably none of which is more crucial than what to do with the land that the BMO Harris Bradley Center currently sits on top of.
Within six months the Bradley Center will be reduced to an empty lot. Although the site poses a plethora of opportunity for the area, the decision of what to do with the space will ultimately be made by the Bucks ownership. “You only get one shot at this, and if you mess up it becomes a big problem,” said Alex Lasry, senior vice president of the Milwaukee Bucks’. “We want to be smart about what we put there and that’s going to take some time.”
Although the possibilities are endless, discussion of the space’s future has been focused on a hotel and convention center, office center, bars and restaurants, or a combination of all three. However, it is still too early to speculate. “It will likely be a big piece of green space for some time,” said Ald. Bob Bauman, whose district includes the site.
Bauman said that if the future home is privately financed, it would be zoned for any number of large mixed-use developments. However, a request for city funds would require Common Council action.
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Community-Based Ideas
“What are we doing to be inclusive?” asked Milwaukee Downtown CEO Beth Weirick at a Wednesday panel hosted by the Milwaukee Press Club that discussed the Bradley Center. “We want it to be something that every Milwaukeean connects to and relates to.”
One community idea that was briefly mentioned at the panel was the idea to use the space for a dog park. This idea originated from the Downtown Neighbors Association of Milwaukee, Inc., a nonprofit consisting of three adjacent Downtown districts, including East Town, Westown and the Historic Third Ward. A petition for the idea already has 447 signatures.
Their website states, “The tax-paying public—especially those who aren't basketball fans—deserve a new, fun and free amenity at this site, in exchange for contributing more than $250 million to the new Bucks arena and associated developments.”
Claude Krawczyk is a local attorney leading the campaign. Krawczyk has lived Downtown for years, and would love to see a dog park for other area residents to use. “I just don’t think it’s a good place for people to live,” he said. “During the day, you could have hundreds of people coming by with their dogs. That seems like a major plus. It’s not that I’m anti-development, I just think this site would be the ideal area for a dog park.”
Alex Lasry, senior vice president of the Milwaukee Bucks’, talks to reporters after a forum that was hosted by the Milwaukee Press Club Wednesday.
Although Lasry didn’t directly address this idea, he did say he wants the site to be used as a “pedestrian haven.” He also discussed having options for people during the daytime hours. Lasry said that he is open to hearing ideas from the public, even though there are no public forums or discussions scheduled at the moment.
The 2020 Democratic National Convention was also discussed by Downtown leaders, as Milwaukee is one of three cities in the running for the event that will be held July 13-16, 2020. Lasry is the chair of the local committee aiming to help Milwaukee secure the bid. He said that they would not simply build a hotel, something the DNC selection committee has apparently expressed interest in, for the sole purpose of the convention. “We aren’t going to build a church just for Easter Sunday,” he said.
“We need areas where people can hang out before an event or after an event,” said Marty Brooks, the CEO of the Wisconsin Center District. The Wisconsin Center District includes the Wisconsin Center, the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and the Miller High Life Theatre—all of which lie less than a mile from the Bradley Center. “We have to make sure there is open public space, not just fortresses.”
“My hope is that everyone will benefit,” said Lasry. “I think when you look at this entire area, it’s about growing the city and making the city more connected.”
