Bucks Owner Herb Kohl and other Milwaukee leaders for years have claimed that the BMO Harris Bradley Center is "outdated and not fit for an NBA team," and NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO Adam Silver yesterday "made the case clear," according to Rich Kirchen of the BUSINESS JOURNAL OF MILWAUKEE. Silver: "One obvious issue we all have to deal with is we need a new arena in Milwaukee." Silver toured the venue and "concluded it is too small and still falls short on amenities." He said, "Compared to other modern arenas in the league, this arena is a few hundred thousand square feet too small. It doesn't have the sort of back-of-house space you need, doesn't have the kinds of amenities we need. It doesn't have the right sort of upper bowl/lower bowl configuration for the teams frankly that Milwaukee wants to compete against." Silver added that league officials are "aware new NBA-quality arenas are being planned" in Seattle, Las Vegas and K.C. But Kirchen wrote while league officials are "happy to share the NBA’s specifications" for those venues, they "are not entertaining new franchises." Silver said that he "supports the efforts of Kohl and the Bucks to keep the team viable and in Milwaukee." He added that Kohl’s ownership is "one of the team’s great strengths and that Kohl is committed to keeping the team in Milwaukee" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/18). Kohl said getting an extension from the NBA to continue playing at the Bradley Center "was not an easy thing." He said that team officials "had to appear before a committee of NBA owners" who had the option of rejecting the Bucks' request for a 25-year extension. Kohl: "There was some opposition there. None of it was personal -- it was all a matter of good business in terms of what’s good for the NBA" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/18).
