Milwaukee Bucks New Arena: Latest News, Rumors, Speculation on Potential Deal

Mike ChiariSep 22, 2015

The Milwaukee Bucks took a significant step toward landing a new arena Tuesday, as the city's common council voted in favor of a $47 million spending plan, according to Tom Daykin of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Continue for updates.

Milwaukee Passes Arena Funding, Design Approval on Tap

Tuesday, Sept. 22

Per Daykin, the spending plan was passed by a 12-3 vote, which means the focus will now shift toward the council voting on the project's design at some point during the fall.

After the decision was made, Bucks president Peter Feigin released a statement via NBA.com:

"
Today is a truly historic day for Milwaukee and Wisconsin, and the culmination of months of hard work from an incredible coalition passionate about our community's future. Thanks to the support of Sen. [Herb] Kohl, Mayor [Tom] Barrett and the common council, and other elected officials in both Milwaukee and Madison, this transformative public-private partnership is now a reality. Now it's time to get to work creating jobs and building a better Milwaukee—not just for the Bucks, but for all citizens of this great state.
"

According to Daykin, the Bucks hope the $500 million project will be completed in time for the 2017-18 season, although Bucks fans may have to wait until the 2018-19 campaign depending upon how quickly the process moves along.

As seen in this photo, courtesy of Today's TMJ4, the Bucks have already released an artist's rendering of what the arena and surrounding area could ultimately look like:

While the vote suggests there was plenty of support for the new arena, it wasn't a unanimous decision. Alderman Mark A. Borkowski was among those who voted against the proposal.

Per A.J. Bayatpour of WITI Fox 6, Borkowski spoke against the Bucks receiving any type of financial aid from the city:

The Bucks have played in the BMO Harris Bradley Center since 1988, which makes it one of the NBA's oldest facilities.

The small-market Bucks would have been very much in danger of relocating without a new arena, so Tuesday's vote was huge with regard to the future of the franchise.

Since the Bucks and the city of Milwaukee have been synonymous with each other for nearly 50 years, one can only assume the reaction to the deal will be primarily positive despite the potential financial pitfalls.

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