The Wisconsin Badgers men’s hockey team will play in a new four-team college hockey tournament at Fiserv Forum in December, according to a report by the Wisconsin State Journal.
The Madison-based publication on Friday reported that the University of Wisconsin-Madison has signed a contract to participate in the first three years of the event, scheduled for Dec. 28 and 29, 2020 and Dec. 27 and 28, both in 2021 and 2022.
A spokesman for the Milwaukee Bucks, who operate Fiserv Forum, declined to comment on plans for the college hockey tournament at the downtown Milwaukee arena.
The contact, between UW-Madison and Princeton, New Jersey-based event promoter Gazelle Group Inc., was obtained by the State Journal through an open records request.
The report says the contract gives Gazelle rights for naming and sponsorship and to select the teams and matchups for the tournament. UW-Madison will receive $20,000 each year it participates.
Representatives of Gazelle Group could not be immediately reached for comment.
The late December tournament would bring back a longstanding Badger hockey tradition in Milwaukee. The Badger Hockey Showdown was hosted annually at the Bradley Center from 1989 to 2003, when it moved to the Kohl Center in Madison until its last year in 2009.
The tournament would be the first ice hockey event held at Fiserv Forum, but wouldn’t be the first time it covers its floor with ice. Cirque du Soleil, Disney on Ice and Cirque Musica have all performed on-ice shows since the arena opened in August 2018.
UW’s discussions surrounding other hockey events in Milwaukee had once included Miller Park as a potential host site, according to the State Journal report.
