The Milwaukee Bucks and Marquette University signed a seven-year agreement for the school’s men’s basketball team to play its home games in the Bucks new arena starting with the 2018-19 season.
Marquette has played in the BMO Harris Bradley Center for all of its 29 years and was expected to be a tenant in the new arena, but it was more than two years from when the plans for the arena were announced to Tuesday’s announcement.
Marquette president Michael Lovell joked with Bucks president Peter Feigin that it took a little time to make the deal a reality.
“You’ve done your New Yorkers proud. You’re a pretty shrewd negotiator,” Lovell said, before adding that the university also had the Jesuits on its side.
Joking aside, representatives from both sides said the challenge in getting the deal together was the number of amenities and opportunities the new facility offered over the Bradley Center.
Feigin said the new facility offered a blank slate for Marquette and an opportunity to customize locker rooms, the team’s experience, operations and ability to display its brand.
“All those things are big deals and we think we really found a good medium,” he said.
Lovell, who had not been in the new building yet, said he was “blown away” by how intimate the facility will be for games.
“I think the fan experience, for our students, our student-athletes is what we’re really excited for,” Lovell said. “We’re not going to be just another tenant, we’re actually going to have our own space.”
After the announcement, Marquette men’s head basketball coach Steve Wojciechowski and other Marquette officials toured the arena, including the area where the team’s locker rooms will be and the tunnel for court access.
“Excitement does not do the way I feel justice,” Wojciechowski said during the announcement. “This is incredible.”
He said he has had renderings of the new building up in his office for a long time and having the agreement in place means the new arena will be another symbol for recruits and players of how they will “get to experience excellence in every way” during their time at Marquette.
