(H/T for the McNally piece – Peter)
Joel McNally, in what appears to be a moment of relative clarity, makes the case against replacing the Bradley Center. Unbelievably, I agree with the gist of it. There are, however, some moonbatty items in the piece that need to be shot down…
I remember foolishly believing when the Bradley Center opened that since the Bucks wouldn’t have to pay any rent to play in their luxurious, new sports palace, ticket prices would be dirt cheap.
Ordinary Milwaukeeans and their children would be able to buy the best seats in the house. Democracy would reign in the stands instead of the strict caste system that existed in other cities where movie stars and corporate attorneys sat courtside and working-class families watched with binoculars from the rafters.
That golden age never arrived. It turns out free rent isn’t nearly enough tribute to pay to professional sports franchises owned by millionaires these days. They want cold, hard cash.
The BC was never Lambeau Field, and the Bucks will never be the Packers. They don’t have a 60,000+-name waiting list to let keep growing by undervaluing the seats. Further, there’s a much higher percentage of a particular team’s revenue that’s dependent on the team in the NBA than in the NFL.
As for the binoculars comment, I once had season tickets up in the rafters. I never needed binoculars, though I freely admit that the seats on the lower level are FAR better. Those hoping for the Arena’s coziness were bound to be disappointed; there’s no way to make an 18,000-seat arena as cozy as an 11,000-seat one.
Finally, it’s not just the owners that want cold hard cash. The average NBA salary is somewhere north of $4 million.
Other than that, it’s a pretty good piece. The money shots, as they usually do, come at the end. I espeically like this one:
Payne says newer arenas are destinations that create revenue on non-game days with restaurants and shops. But nothing is stopping the Bradley Center from adding such attractions now, except an embarrassing dearth of customers in existing downtown restaurants and shops on non-game days.
To which I add a general perception on the Friday’s Front Row at Miller Park. It doesn’t seem to be terribly busy on those times I drive past Miller Park when the Brewers aren’t in town.
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