Every year the Milwaukee Bucks designate games to benefit the MACC Fund to help sponsor the fight against childhood cancer. This year, a preseason game against the Toronto Raptors was designated as that game. It never happened. So what’s that got to do with the arena? Everything.
Allow me to provide a little background. I often refer to myself as the sole season ticket holder of the Milwaukee Bucks. I am in my fourth season as a ticket holder and there have been many games in which I could hear the echo of my own clapping in the Bradley Center. I have even followed the team on the road to ideal destinations such as Chicago and Miami, both of whom have plush state-of-the-art facilities. Those are not words one would use to describe the Bradley Center.
The Bradley Center is a relic of an era just prior to the advent of the modern day arena. In fact, two generations of arena design have passed since the Bradley Center opened nearly 25 years ago. The seats are decrepit, the arena is dark and dank. They use folding chairs that have literally been around since the 1989 NBA season to provide seating for their highest paying customers in the first 7 or 8 rows. It needs a paint job, new seating, new lighting, entertainment centers in the rotunda and a new p.a system. During the offseason, the Bucks chose to ignore all of those issues for about the 15th year in a row and focus on purchasing a brand new arena floor for the players to play on.
Which brings us to where we are now on a Saturday night at a preseason game to benefit the MACC Fund. The Raptors and Bucks took to the brand new expensive floor and the game tipped off. On the very first possession Bucks forward John Henson slipped and fell flat on his back. He rushed to his feet looking bewildered and complained to the referee.
The Raptors took the ball and pushed it up the court where Raptors forward Rudy Gay, trying a quick move similar to the one Henson had slipped on, lost his balance and did a face-first nose dive onto the arena floor. Bucks ball. The Bucks inbounded and OJ Mayo fell on the floor. A timeout was called and each team went back to their respective benches.
During the timeout late-arriving fans began to take their seats. The MACC Fund games always draw a good turnout and even in the preseason, the Bradley Center was filling up.
Suddenly, both benches cleared and headed towards one another. When the two teams reached center court players appeared to be exchanging their goodbyes. Hugs were given and high fives were slapped. Players started taking off their uniforms right there. Before we knew it, the Toronto Raptors had left the floor and headed back to the locker room as had the Milwaukee Bucks.
The game was over. Officially it never took place although the teams had managed to play about 4 minutes of real game time and the Bucks led 14-9. We departed the arena imploring late arriving fans to just turn around and leave. It was a hard blow to the MACC Fund people who put a lot into these annual games. But it was also a reality check for Bucks owner Herb Kohl.
The Bucks are under a mandate from current NBA deputy commissioner and future commisioner Adam Silver to either build a new arena or face relocation. The NBA is finished with expansion but there are several cities, most notably, Seattle that are ready to have teams relocate to them.
The prospect that the Bucks could soon turn into the Seattle Supersonics is very, very real. Sen. Herb Kohl, an owner of the Bucks, has been steadfast in his refusal to build a new arena in Milwaukee since at least 2001 when the idea for a new building was pitched. This past summer, Kohl renewed the lease on the Bradley Center with BMO Harris for another five years instead of getting funds together for a new building that could have opened much sooner than five years from now. Silver did not appear to appreciate that move from Kohl and placed the Bucks on notice that a new arena needs to be imminent.
Defending the senator’s actions is impossible considering that the Bradley Center is literally falling apart to the point where they were unable to even play an NBA game there a week ago. It is beyond embarrassing that even a doormat team like the Sacramento Kings have a new arena within the next three years. The Golden State Warriors are also building a new home in San Francisco. It is sad to see the Bucks be considered a third world country compared to the rest of the NBA.
Seattle has long been a hotbed for sports in North America. The old Supersonics were the most entertaining team in the league at one point. Their two superstars, Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton were almost singlehandedly responsible for the founding of many sports highlights shows we see on television today. The players loved playing there and Gary Payton has been front-and-center fighting for a team to return to Seattle.
The return of the Sonics is matter of time not principle. This will absolutely happen and it appears it will happen to my Bucks. Even after the mandate from Silver there has not even been a rumble or a rumor about a new building for Milwaukee. It would appear Kohl is digging in and hoping to sell the team prior to being forced to move it.
Over the past two decades Senator Kohl has shown legendary stubbornness on a number of key issues. Hall of Fame players and coaches have been shown the door by the senator after no seeing things his way. As frustrating as those moments have been for fans, there was also the understanding that it was his team and we’d just start over. But when it comes to the arena and facilities the Bucks use, Kohl’s stubbornness appears to be on the verge of ensuring the destruction of the franchise. A destruction that will accompanied by the sound of a sonic boom.