If there’s one thing former U.S. Senator and current Milwaukee Bucks (NBA) owner Herb Kohl cares about, it’s his legacy — which is why talk of his selling the Bucks and building a new arena makes sense.
Kohl has already built one arena in Wisconsin: the University of Wisconsin’s Kohl Center, which hosts basketball and hockey. It’s a very basic facility, to be sure, but it fits the needs of the Badgers.
There’s no doubt the Milwaukee Bucks need a new arena to survive: the team is already being run on a shoestring, and the BMO Harris Bradley Center just isn’t capable of generating the sort of revenue needed for an NBA team to thrive. Kohl has been seeking partners to invest in the Bucks, and while it sounds like serious discussions are underway, there’s been no sale of the team yet, no matter what Bill Simmons says.
But that doesn’t mean one isn’t imminent. It’s going to take some serious private money for a new Bucks arena to happen: Milwaukee voters are still pretty upset about funding Miller Park for the Milwaukee Brewers, and state approval won’t be easy, either.
