Marquette earlier this year "discreetly explored the idea of developing its own basketball arena" in downtown Milwaukee before eventually "deciding against pursuing the project," according to Tom Daykin of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL. The arena would have "come with a potential naming rights sponsor: Chicago-based Wintrust Financial Corp. and its Hartland-based subsidiary, Town Bank." But Marquette "dropped the idea" after about two to three months of preliminary study. University leaders "decided raising money for a basketball arena would have taken its focus from higher-priority projects, including long-range plans for a new business school." The men’s basketball team this season "began playing games at downtown’s new Fiserv Forum," while the women’s team plays on campus at the Al McGuire Center. Marquette’s Fiserv Forum lease is "only seven years," lasting through the '24-25 season, and the seating capacity of 17,500 is "too large for many of Marquette’s games." Sources said that around 10,000 seats "would be a better fit for Marquette" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 12/15).
