Journal Sentinel Sold

[Djgoldnboy]

What a sh!tshow, especially if they sell that building.....hold out for more money, end up being bought out, and if they move that's a lose/lose for everyone, at least in regards to what could have been with the location for the arena.

[TheSultan]

What a sh!tshow, especially if they sell that building.....hold out for more money, end up being bought out, and if they move that's a lose/lose for everyone, at least in regards to what could have been with the location for the arena.

One of the reasons the building may not have been for sale is because this deal was in the works. They may have wanted to wait to determine where to relocated given the pending sale.

Regardless, I think the current location fits better with what the owners want to do anyway. I think the location also made it much more amenable to the City and the County, and didn't cause fights with UWM over the future of the arena. The arena is a perfect smaller location, and getting rid of it would have caused problems. I mean, UWM and the Admirals weren't going to play in the BC right? (Assuming that the arena would have had to be sacrificed for the new one.)

In the end, I think it all works out for the better.

[Litehouse]

The Journal building will still be a good location for development after the new arena is complete. It's a nice link between downtown and the new arena, next to the MECCA and the Convention Center, so hopefully they can find something useful to put there.

[Nukem2]

The Journal building will still be a good location for development after the new arena is complete. It's a nice link between downtown and the new arena, next to the MECCA and the Convention Center, so hopefully they can find something useful to put there.

That's very true. Could also create a nice link to the river somehow as well?

[IWB]

I think the current location fits better with what the owners want to do anyway.

Disagree - They want to build an entertainment district. Putting it where the Journal & Arena are it would have given them immediate neighbors of the PAC, the Auditorium and the Convention Center as well as being a block from the Riverside and Wisconsin Avenue which they wanted to revitalize.

[Djgoldnboy]

Yeah, I would like it closer too to downtown. I know that area to the north (Vliet St) isn't considered "real rough", but three years ago I came out of an MU game when street parking up there to both my windows smashed and a small amount of cash taken from my cars center console (not visible, had to open it up). Would just prefer it be closer to Kilborn Avenue than Vliet. And needless to say, I now use the public parking structures for all games.

[Litehouse]

Disagree - They want to build an entertainment district. Putting it where the Journal & Arena are it would have given them immediate neighbors of the PAC, the Auditorium and the Convention Center as well as being a block from the Riverside and Wisconsin Avenue which they wanted to revitalize.

I agree it would have been nicer to have the new arena at the Journal/MECCA site to be more integrated with downtown because 2 blocks in the winter can make a big difference in how willing people are to walk from place to place. However, I got the impression the Bucks owners wanted additional available space for their own developments. The Journal/MECCA site doesn't give them as much opportunity to develop the surrounding area. The block south with Calderone Club could potentially be torn down and developed as something else, and they could develop the block along the river with Usingers. I suppose the corner lot by Turners could be developed also, but other than that there isn't much available space. That's assuming the BC stays standing. If they tear down the BC they could obviously develop that space, but then you have the problem of finding a home for the UWM/Admirals/monster truck shows.

Plus, the planned site solves the problem of what to do with the Park East land. If they built the arena at the Journal/MECCA site, the Park East land would probably remain undeveloped.

If Milwaukee could have a complete do-over, I think it would be awesome to have the new Arena on Wisconsin Ave where the Convention Center is, and the convention center spanning two blocks connecting the new Arena to the BC.

[Halo]

Disagree - They want to build an entertainment district. Putting it where the Journal & Arena are it would have given them immediate neighbors of the PAC, the Auditorium and the Convention Center as well as being a block from the Riverside and Wisconsin Avenue which they wanted to revitalize.

Bingo.

[TedBaxter]

The convention center could potentially expand onto the JS block now and create a specialized high end convention space with glass looking out over the river.

Engage Populace, the new arena architects, in the planning of future convention space.

[TheSultan]

I get why you would want the Arena as a stand alone where the JS building is, but with all the development planned for around the arena, I think the current site is better. And I think the city is much more interested in having that site developed than tearing down existing structures to develop near the JS site.