Bucks President Peter Feigin on Tuesday said that the franchise has "a long way to go to rebuild the relationship" with the local corporate community, according to Don Walker of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL. Feigin noted that the Bucks have the "smallest season-ticket base" in the NBA, an estimated 4,000 season-ticket holders. That "compares with the league average of approximately 10,000." Feigin added that 80% of the franchise's season-ticket holders "are individuals, while the remaining 20% are corporations," a situation he called "horrendous." A self-described marketing and sales person, Feigin said that it was "important to rebuild the Bucks as a business by building its fan base, increasing revenue, embracing its existing partnerships with companies and fans and creating what he called 'more win-wins on the sponsor side.'" Feigin said that the team's new co-Owners Marc Lasry and Wes Edens are "motivated to build a championship level team." Feigin: "Our ownership is motivated to not spend the minimum... and (to) maximize how we hire talent on the court." Feigin added that the team "expects to announce the addition of two or three additional local investors, bringing to at least 14 the number of named local business people." He said that, among the local investors he has spoken with, "all plan to publicly support a public-private partnership to build" a new arena. Meanwhile, Feigin said that public financial support for a new, multipurpose arena "is needed to spur additional development nearby." He added that the new building "holds the potential to be a catalyst" to more than $1B in additional development "in the form of new retail, residential and commercial space" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 1/7).
LOCAL SUPPORT: In Milwaukee, Walker reported locally based ManpowerGroup Exec Chair Jeffrey Joerres and four other prominent businessmen "have joined the ever-growing list" of Bucks investors. The other investors are Wisconsin-based Husco Int'l CEO Austin Ramirez, Husco Founder Agustin Ramirez, along with Brewers minority owners Marc Stern and his son, Adam. The addition of the investors, as well as "at least 14 other identified local investors, gives the Bucks' ownership group considerable corporate clout in the upcoming debate over forging a financing plan for a new, multipurpose arena" (
MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 1/8).
