After being inundated with an over-capacity crowd of Bucks fans coming to watch Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday, the Milwaukee Bucks have expanded the Deer District’s watch party area to fit up to 65,000 people for Game 6 of the NBA Finals tonight at Fiserv Forum.
The Bucks on Monday afternoon announced several adjustments aimed at meeting increased attendance at the outdoor watch parties that have taken place at the Deer District throughout the team’s lengthy NBA Playoffs run.
For Game 6, the main stage and screen will be situated in the northeast corner of an empty lot located directly north of Fiserv Forum, between Vel R. Phillips Ave. and North Fifth Street. From there, the watch party area will run south across West Juneau Ave. and continue onto the arena’s public plaza, which will be equipped with additional viewing screens.
Juneau Ave. will be closed between North Sixth Street and North King Drive (formerly Old World Third St.), and Vel R. Phillips Avenue will be closed between West McKinley Avenue and Juneau Avenue, according to a news release.
Moving the main stage further away from Fiserv Forum’s main entrance allows for better traffic flow for those heading inside, said Dustin Godsey, chief marketing officer for the Bucks.
Fans with tickets to the game will have access to the plaza through a dedicated express entrance, located on the north side of Fiserv Forum near the intersection of Juneau Avenue and Fifth Street.
Gates to both Fiserv Forum and Deer District will open Tuesday at 6 p.m., two hours prior to tipoff. Heavy traffic is expected throughout the Deer District, according to the news release.
“We’re encouraging fans to come down early and get inside to make sure they don’t miss any of the action,” said Godsey.
Fans planning to attend the watch party at the Deer District are encouraged to RSVP here to receive the most up-to-date information and guidance.
Since the start of the Eastern Conference Finals last month, the Deer District has been able to fit about 25,000 fans and has hit or surpassed that cap almost every game night – for both home and road games. For Game 5 of the NBA Finals, the Bucks said there were approximately 25,500 fans at the Deer District. There was an additional 10,000 fans watching the game at the ticketed, sold-out watch party inside Fiserv Forum.
Thousands of fans watched the game from outside of the Deer District after police blocked the entrance to the plaza once the area reached capacity less than an hour after tipoff.
While the Deer District is now equipped to handle three times as many fans, the Bucks aren’t necessarily expecting that large of a crowd.
“For Game 6 and a potential Game 7, we wanted to make sure that we built out enough to be able to accommodate significantly larger crowds than we’ve seen previously,” said Godsey.
As for a potential championship parade, he said, the Bucks remain “focused on getting that fourth win, and then I can say that we’ll certainly be prepared to throw a great celebration if we’re lucky enough to get to that point.”
