The Milwaukee Bucks announced today that they will host a press conference on Wednesday in Oshkosh for a “major team announcement,” followed by a youth basketball clinic and Bucks game viewing party.
A spokesperson for the Bucks declined to say what will be announced at the press conference, but it is widely expected that the team will announce it has selected Oshkosh as the site for its D-League team. WBAY-TV Channel 2 in Green Bay reported that it had confirmed that the Bucks will announce it is picking Oshkosh for its D-League team.
The D (Development)-League is the minor league of the NBA. The Bucks currently do not have a D-League affiliate, but the owners of the team want to establish one in Wisconsin. The Bucks issued an RFP asking for Wisconsin cities to bid for the D-League team.
Oshkosh, Sheboygan, Grand Chute (near Appleton), La Crosse and Racine all expressed interest and were considered by the Bucks. Last summer the Bucks eliminated Grand Chute and La Crosse from consideration.
For the Bucks D-League team, Oshkosh investors are proposing to build a new $15 million, privately financed arena in the city’s Sawdust District, on the site of the former Buckstaff Furniture Company factory site along South Main Street, just south of the city’s downtown area. The arena would have a capacity of 3,500 for basketball.
Racine officials have been considering plans for a $40 million, 3,800-seat downtown arena with an attached 135-room hotel. The arena, considered for a vacant site southeast of Lake Avenue and Gas Light Drive, could have hosted the Bucks D-League team but also could host a junior hockey team. Scottsdale, Ariz.-based International Coliseums Company, has been working as a consultant with the city of Racine and could serve as the developer if the project moves forward.
The group that tried to bring the D-League team to Sheboygan was led by Joe Wolf, a Kohler native and a former NBA player who played for the Bucks in 1996-’97 and was an assistant coach for the team from 2008-’13. The Sheboygan group wanted to redevelop the historic Sheboygan Municipal Auditorium and Armory, built in 1942 by the Works Progress Administration. The Armory was the home of the Sheboygan Red Skins professional basketball team, which was a member of the NBA during the league’s first season.
