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Post by BBFran on Mar 1, 2012 10:49:54 GMT -6
I think it will be extremely difficult for the AD to raise that kind of money, short of having a huge donor step up who wants a named building. If you saw the other thread, there seems to be movement towards a solution that is not athletics only.
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Post by skrapheap on Mar 1, 2012 12:04:55 GMT -6
i know it's extremely unlikely that $50M could be raised. i'm just saying what i would want to do with that kind of money if it were raised.
i've never considered buying the Cell to be a good investment, and i found the suggestion to be so unrealistic as to be somewhat amusing.
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mwu
Sophomore
I am U-Dub U-M
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Post by mwu on Mar 1, 2012 20:14:02 GMT -6
If we were to both buy and renovate the arena, I'd be looking in the 60-70 mil range. The # thrown out is clearly the starting point for negotiations.
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Post by ricestillfumbled on Mar 1, 2012 21:29:18 GMT -6
If the bucks stay here it will be because there will be a new arena. If a new arena is built I think the cell will be torn down (even with all the historical nazis that want this city to remain in 1967).
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Post by ricestillfumbled on Mar 1, 2012 21:29:49 GMT -6
And the new arena be built at the site of the cell. Forgot to add that
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Post by gman2 on Mar 1, 2012 22:08:47 GMT -6
A new arena for the Bucks would not fit in the footprint of the current Arena. Maybe the current footprint of the Arena/Milwaukee Theater, but not the Arena itself. but it is a moot point, the Bucks are gone. There are cities with newer facilities waiting for a team, the Bucks will end up in one of those cities.
Personally, I see no reason to tear down the Arena, and I'm not a historical Nazi stuck in 1967. It is a decent building that serves a purpose. There really is no need to tear it down.
The idea of UWM buying the Arena can't be serious. I know a few years ago there were all sorts of number thrown around regrading the Arena lease, which I think ended being about half of the number most commonly thrown around. Does anyone recall what the lease is at the Arena?
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Post by ricestillfumbled on Mar 2, 2012 13:53:06 GMT -6
I never even thought about if the property is big enough...you're right there. But I never said tear down the cell just for the hell of it. Just if hypothetically a new arena would be put there. And the nazis I speak of are the ones that b**** about a new hotel going up dt because it will tear down a building that's been vacant for 40 years. Or they whine because an apartment complex wants to put in balconies...because they want the city to look just like Munich. Even though Munich today looks nothing like it did 25 years ago.
Sorry to change the topic. Go panthers!
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Post by illwauk on Mar 3, 2012 14:06:21 GMT -6
I honestly don't see the Bucks building a new arena downtown. I think it's a much greater possibility that Herb Kohl will sell the team now that he doesn't have to worry about political repercussions if the new owner moves them out of Wisconsin. If that happens, it may actually work to our advantage to be downtown.
That said, as excited as those of us who care enough about the basketball program to post here about the possibility of a new on-campus arena, I think it would behoove the entire athletics program to put it on the back-burner for the moment and look into getting the football program off the ground.
The recent alumni drive to secure funds for a new arena yielded only $20 mil... well short of the $60 mil needed for a new arena. This doesn't surprise me, as UWM students come mainly from in-state and basketball has never been that popular at any level in Wisconsin. Outside of the actual cities of Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha, basketball isn't even the most popular winter sport for high schools. In the Madison area and towns near Minnesota, hockey is more popular, and in the rural areas, wrestling is a bigger deal. Even at UW-Madison, the hockey team has a bigger following than the basketball team and it's the hockey team whose games are broadcast statewide on Wisconsin Public Telelvision. And the Bucks? They barely even have a following in the Milwaukee area and may as well not even exist in the rest of the state.
Given this, what do you think has would create a bigger buzz in the community, keep local media talking about Panther athletics for a sustained length of time and most importantly, get alumni to open up their pocketbooks? A new basketball arena for a team that hasn't been nationally relevant in close to a decade, or bringing Division 1 football back to Milwaukee for the first time in over 50 years?
Consider as well that a decent MAC-level stadium can be built for about half the cost of a new basketball arena (in the $25 mil - $35 mil range) and would not only allow the soccer teams to move out of Engelmann Field (which sucks, but the university does want to put a new building there), but could also give the track teams their first true outdoor home ever. A MAC-level stadium would also allow us to host PantherFest on campus and other outdoor concerts during the summer.
It might not be a popular opinion around here, but to me the choice is obvious.
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Post by illwauk on Mar 3, 2012 15:32:05 GMT -6
I believe the money can legally go towards paying off the AD's current debt, but I think it goes without saying that a completely separate donation drive would be needed here. Although if the AD were to seek the approval of donors to use the remaining $10 mil towards a football stadium, I don't think too many would object.
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Post by parkerj on Mar 3, 2012 16:13:47 GMT -6
and would not only allow the soccer teams to move out of Engelmann Field (which sucks, but the university does want to put a new building there), um...you hate soccer, don't you?
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Post by apaladino on Mar 3, 2012 16:18:07 GMT -6
Initially I read it the same way...but re reading it I think he means that it would suck to lose Engelmann.
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Post by illwauk on Mar 3, 2012 17:48:20 GMT -6
apaladino is right. Engelmann is one of the best pitches in college soccer and is criminally unappreciated by the UWM community, IMO.
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Post by JG Panthers on Mar 3, 2012 22:18:07 GMT -6
Wow. That's so rude.
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Post by uwmfutbol on Mar 3, 2012 22:31:51 GMT -6
Derailed.
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Post by Pantherholic on Mar 3, 2012 23:27:05 GMT -6
Even at UW-Madison, the hockey team has a bigger following than the basketball team and it's the hockey team whose games are broadcast statewide on Wisconsin Public Telelvision. ...and all the men's basketball games are minimally televised in any part of the country that has the BTN. Oh and in a few years the WPT can kiss those hockey games goodbye when the B1G hockey conference starts. Where are you getting your info that hockey's bigger than bball?
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