Bucks an option of NBA contraction

[BrewersSuperCollector]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5715816

 

I know there is no talk in the article about the Bucks, but since there is not going to be a stadium anytime soon.....

 

The Bucks are projected to do well on the court now, but a few years ago things didn't look so bright.

[RockCoCougars]

I would think that the Bucks wouldn't even be in the top 3 on the contraction list. Things aren't exactly peachy in Memphis, Sacramento or Minnesota. There are a few other borderline markets out there with poor attendance and arena issues. The Bucks may be a top 5 option in this scenario, which is why the city fathers need to start talking about a new arena. In the short term, hopefully they start winning and selling out the BC again.

[bullox]

In the short term, hopefully they start winning

Maybe you missed it, but they were a playoff team last year.

[jerichoholicninja]

I've only known one real Bucks fan in my entire life. I paid some attention last year and the year they went to the conference finals but other than that they don't interest me at all.

[NeedMoreFans]

Personally don't see why Charlotte got a team so quickly after the Hornets moved away. If a city has a team move, why should it be rewarded a team so quickly thereafter? I wouldn't mind seeing the Bobcats fold. I also wonder if the Clippers are a viable team to keep in the league. LA and NY are the only two cities with two teams, and the Clippers have never been relevant. I also see Memphis, Sacramento, or Minnesota as possible candidates to be contracted.

[bullox]

Personally don't see why Charlotte got a team so quickly after the Hornets moved away.

The Braves / Brewers situation in Milwaukee is very similar to what you describe.

[NeedMoreFans]

The difference is the Bobcats were an expansion team, the Brewers moved from Seattle.

[T B0NE 10]

How about the NBA focuses on actually playing real basketball to fix their financial woes?

 

People don't care about the NBA because the NCAA now offers a superior product. That is inexcusable considering the unbelievable talent in the NBA. The NBA needs to start selling basketball again and now entertainment.

[GAME05]

there's just not enough superstars for each team in the NBA. i know Stern is blowing hot air, but contraction would be good for the NBA.

[bullox]

The difference is the Bobcats were an expansion team, the Brewers moved from Seattle.

I concede that its nitpicking, but the Pilots spent all of one year in Seattle after being an expansion team themselves. It's not as if the Yankees packed up and came to Milwaukee.

[RockCoCougars]

In the short term, hopefully they start winning

Maybe you missed it, but they were a playoff team last year.

Right, but I said winning and selling out the BC. I thought that I read somewhere that despite the surprise season, last year was the lowest attendance in the Bradley Center era. I'm not sure if the playoff games even sold out. The Bucks have to pack the seats to have any chance at a new arena.

[trwi7]

The Bucks were expected to be bad last year and were bad until after they traded for Salmons. Teams don't magically start selling tickets when the team is expected to be bad and the Bucks have been bad for 20 years previous to last year and the 2001 season. They sold out their playoff games and the crowds were great for all three games.

[TooLiveBrew]

I know there is no talk in the article about the Bucks

I'm confused ... then why did you start the thread with this title?

[trwi7]

I'm confused ... then why did you start the thread with this title?

Crappy arena, pretty crappy team the last 20 years save for a couple seasons, small market and an owner who is old and has no immediate family to leave the Bucks with. Really, just have to put the pieces together.

 

[dadofandrew]

Seattle had far more tradition than Milwaukee. Luckily for the Bucks, they are not at the bottom of the list, but once the Kings and a couple others get figured out, they will be, and the fact the city/county hasn't even discussed a new arena will be noticed and be headshakingly unacceptable.

 

I doubt the Pettits are going to build them another arena. Sooner or later, either a Norm Coleman (built the Wild's arena) will step forward, or the Bucks will move elsewhere. This might play out in 5 years or 25 years, but it will play out.

[RockCoCougars]

Seattle had far more tradition than Milwaukee. Luckily for the Bucks, they are not at the bottom of the list, but once the Kings and a couple others get figured out, they will be, and the fact the city/county hasn't even discussed a new arena will be noticed and be headshakingly unacceptable.

 

I doubt the Pettits are going to build them another arena. Sooner or later, either a Norm Coleman (built the Wild's arena) will step forward, or the Bucks will move elsewhere. This might play out in 5 years or 25 years, but it will play out.

Has anyone found it kind of ironic that the owner of the Bucks gave like a $50 million donation to the money machine that is the UW for a new arena, but doesn't seem interested in kicking that in for his own team? Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissing on Kohl, because the Bucks would have likely been gone 20 years ago without him, but I do find that kind of odd.

 

By the way, I would dispute that Seattle had more basketball tradition than Milwaukee. They had some good teams in the late 70's and early 80's and again at the turn of the century, but the Bucks were for the most part, a top tier team for the better part of 20 years. True they each only have one championship, but I would guess that the Bucks have played many more playoff games.

[Invader3K]

The thing is there is no way any politician is going to be able to bring up the idea of a new NBA arena in Milwaukee right now with how poor the local economy is (relatively speaking). That said, how many cities are there that the Bucks could realistically locate to? Ones that have a high quality arena built or would be willing to build one in the very near future?

 

I don't think the Bucks are in any real danger in the near term. Everyone knows they'll need a new building eventually if they're going to stay in Milwaukee. It will probably be worked out down the line when the economy improves.

[yount19.u]

How about the NBA focuses on actually playing real basketball to fix their financial woes?

 

People don't care about the NBA because the NCAA now offers a superior product. That is inexcusable considering the unbelievable talent in the NBA. The NBA needs to start selling basketball again and now entertainment.

Have you watched the NBA in the last few years? It's no longer the "me first" league run by the Iversons, Carters and McGradys of the world. That type of game, combined with low scoring and sloppy play lost a lot of fans in the late 90's and early 00's, and many still seem to believe it's continued on like that. With the emergence of Lebron, a much less selfish Kobe, and much improved point guard play, the League is actually starting to resemble it's glory days from the mid 80's and early 90's. Now if they can just get the refs on the same page, we'll have some pretty awesome basketball to watch. The NCAA, in my opinion, is only interesting because of March madness. Fundamentals are great, but they don't make it a better watch. The NBA has done a nice job of combining fundamentals along with incredible athleticism lately.

 

As for the contraction issue. If it were serious, I think the Bucks would be on the table solely due to their aging arena and lack of market size. I don't think there is any truth to it, though. It's just Stern posturing in front of a potential labor dispute.

[trwi7]

That said, how many cities are there that the Bucks could realistically locate to? Ones that have a high quality arena built or would be willing to build one in the very near future?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprint_Center

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KFC_Yum!_Center

 

Those are the two I thought of off the top of my head.

[bacon06]

That said, how many cities are there that the Bucks could realistically locate to? Ones that have a high quality arena built or would be willing to build one in the very near future?

The issue discussed in the article was contracting teams, not moving them though. It's sad that when sports leagues discuss contraction, Milwaukee teams are thought of first.

[bork]

This will be an important year, to see if Milwaukee actually comes out and supports the Bucks. The only year they ever came close to selling out the season (at the BC) was the year after they almost made it to the finals with the big 3. Otherwise, they've been in the 15,000 to 16,000 range. The first year in the BC was the only other year where they drew over 17,000. Of course, they've had mostly pudrid teams since they've been at the BC. It's interesting that Marquette has outdrawn the Bucks over the past three years, but that probably points to the fact the Milwaukee will support a winner more than anything else. That and the fact that the NBA season is too long.

[dadofandrew]

The way the Bucks discount tiks, they should average 18K if they win 45+ games. Sadly, this does not bring in much more cash, as their average ticket price suffers.

[TheEndless7]

On a slightly unrelated note, but in reply to Al's first post. Didn't the Pettit's build the Bradley Center because they thought they were going to get a NHL team?

[dadofandrew]

Yep, they hoped to attract an expansion NHL team.

[danzig6767]

The way the Bucks discount tiks, they should average 18K if they win 45+ games. Sadly, this does not bring in much more cash, as their average ticket price suffers.

Are you being sarcastic there Al?

 

Milwaukee certainly has a stronger base of basketball fans than some other NBA franchises, but the Bucks wouldn't average 18K even if they won 55-60 games this year. There is just to much overall apathy towards the NBA among casual sports fans in Milwaukee for the Bucks to draw nearly a full house on a nightly basis, regardless of nice ticket deals and a much improved team compared to the last 8-10 years.

 

The Brewers were able to draw big attendance numbers once the team improved and because of Miller Park, but they have two huge X factors among casual sports fans in Milwaukee that the Bucks can't draw from and those are summer and tailgaiting.

 

I know quite a few people that are casual sports fans to even non-sports fans that go to 1-5 Brewers games a year mainly to enjoy a nice summer day/evening and often to also spend time with a group of friends/family tailgaiting. That interaction with friends/family on a nice summer day or evening being as big a part of going as seeing the game itself. Hell, i'm a big Brewers fan and even for me, i usually enjoy tailgaiting with friends as much as the game itself and thus that factor draws me to going more often on nice weather days/evenings.

 

The Bucks though play downtown which some scared white folks from the suburbs prefer avoiding and they often enough play home games on nights where the weather flat out sucks ranging from bitter cold to lots of snow, that can keep people from attending. For myself, i'm a big Bucks fan also, but i'm not heading out in crappy weather to the BC, i'll instead sit in front of my 50' plasma and stay warm while watching the game for free.