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Home > BizTimes Daily > Archives > March 26, 2009
Doyle's capital budget includes $5 million for Bradley Center
Published March 26, 2009 - BizTimes Daily
Gov. Jim Doyle's capital budget includes a proposal to provide the Bradley Center with $500,000 in state funds each year for 10 years, a total of $5 million, for building maintenance and upgrades.
The Bradley Center, built in 1988, is owned by the state, but the state has never provided any funding for the facility, said Bradley Center spokesman Evan Zeppos.
In recent years Ulice Payne, the chairman of the Bradley Center Board of Directors, has said that the Bradley Center is struggling to provide an adequate source of revenue for the Milwaukee Bucks and that the community needs to discuss plans for a new facility to keep an NBA team in Milwaukee.
In the meantime, the Bradley Center has worked to maximize its revenue streams for the Bucks and the other tenants including the Marquette men's basketball team and the Milwaukee Admirals.
“We applaud the request by Governor Doyle for state funding to help preserve and maintain the Bradley Center, a one-of-a-kind gift to the people of Wisconsin by the late Jane Bradley Pettit," Payne said. "As a state-owned facility, the Bradley Center has always been the people’s building. The time has come for the state and the people of Wisconsin to invest in its successful future. The Bradley Center was built without tax dollars and has operated for 21 years with no public funding, yet it has generated tens of millions of dollars in state and local taxes and has been a significant driver of economic development in downtown Milwaukee. Every penny generated by the Bradley Center has been invested back into the facility, its tenants and the community. Yet today, the need for capital repairs and building system replacements is outpacing the ability of the Bradley Center to pay for them. We have an aging structure that presents physical challenges, and must function in a rapidly changing sports and entertainment industry that presents significant business and economic challenges. The state support requested by Governor Doyle will help to keep the Bradley Center a viable economic engine, and will ensure Wisconsin continues to be a top destination for sports and the nation’s best touring shows."
