Admirals Not Invited to New Bucks Arena
A sign of the changing face of Milwaukee sports, Thursday the Milwaukee Admirals worked to remove on-ice logos from the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
The Admirals days in that building are done, they move to the UWM Panther Arena next season. They won't be a tenant at the new Milwaukee Bucks arena, even though we learned this week that the building will include a hockey arena.
The move to the Panther Arena came from the talk over the new Bucks arena.
The Admirals team president says conversations about the hockey team playing in the new building weren’t moving along, so the Admirals wanted to get an early jump on a new home.
Now knowing ice will be at the new Bucks arena doesn’t come as much of a surprise to Admirals management, they figured the Bucks want it for special events and shows. Management also believes the Bucks also do not want a hockey team in the building full time.
Bucks spokesman Jake Suski said in a statement, "The arena will include the facilities and equipment for ice-related events so that the venue has the flexibility to attract all kinds of world-class entertainment. There are no plans for the NHL or a full-time hockey tenant."
Admirals team president Jon Greenberg says in the beginning of the arena talks, Admirals ownership reached out to Bucks ownership to find out if there would be a place for the Admirals.
Greenberg said, “We asked some questions from time to time and never really got much of a response back, so didn’t take too long for us to kind of figure out that we should really start looking at where we’re going down the road here.”
Greenberg says there’s no disappointment over how things were handled, and the Admirals are looking forward to having their own space at the Panther Arena.
Bucks released this statement:
“We respect the Admirals decision and believe they're a great fit with the Panther Arena. We all benefit from their decision to remain nearby as we collectively look to make downtown Milwaukee a world-class sports destination.”