Fiserv Forum (stylized as fiserv.forum) () is a multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

located in downtown

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

. It is the home of the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA) and the

Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball The Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team (formerly the Marquette Hilltoppers and Marquette Warriors) represents Marquette University in NCAA Division I college basketball and competes in the Big East Conference. The team plays its home ...

team of

Marquette University Marquette University () is a private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Martin Henni, the first Bishop of the diocese of M ...

. Groundbreaking and construction began on June 18, 2016, and the arena received its

certificate of occupancy Certificate may refer to: * Birth certificate * Marriage certificate * Death certificate * Gift certificate * Certificate of authenticity, a document or seal certifying the authenticity of something * Certificate of deposit, or CD, a financial p ...

on June 5, 2018. The arena opened on August 26, 2018.

History

Despite being one of the premier NBA facilities when completed in 1988, the BMO Harris Bradley Center was one of the oldest active NBA arenas by the end of the Bucks' tenancy in 2018. Only Madison Square Garden in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and

Oakland Arena Oakland Arena is an indoor arena located in Oakland, California, United States. From its opening in 1966 until 1996, it was known as the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. After a major renovation completed in 1997, the arena was renamed T ...

in Oakland were older than the Bradley Center; however, both Madison Square Garden and Oakland Arena were substantially renovated during their lifetimes, with Oakland Arena eventually being replaced by the new

Chase Center Chase Center is an indoor arena in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The building is the home venue for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and occasionally for the University of San ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

for the 2019–20 season. The funds for the building of the BMO Harris Bradley Center were donated by

Jane Bradley Pettit Jane Bradley Pettit (1918-2001) was an American philanthropist.
''

and husband

Lloyd Pettit Lloyd Pettit (March 22, 1927 – November 11, 2003) was a sportscaster in Chicago and Milwaukee as well as the owner of the Milwaukee Admirals. Early life Pettit was born in Chicago and moved as a small child to the Milwaukee suburb of Shorewood ...

without any provision for the building's long-term capital needs or annual operating expenses. Although the facility was self-sufficient, its tenants, such as the Bucks, were at a disadvantage compared with other NBA teams because of the arrangement. Former Bucks owner and former U.S. Senator

Herb Kohl Herbert H. Kohl (born February 7, 1935) is an American businessman and politician. Alongside his brother and father, the Kohl family created the Kohl's department stores chain, of which Kohl went on to be president and CEO. Kohl also served as a ...

proposed building a new downtown arena to replace the Bradley Center. There was considerable discussion in the region about the idea of a publicly funded arena and ultimately no resolution was reached. In 2009, Wisconsin Governor

Jim Doyle James Edward Doyle, Jr., (born November 23, 1945) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Wisconsin, serving from January 6, 2003 to January 3, 2011. In his first election to the governorship, he defeated incum ...

included a provision in the state's capital budget seeking $5 million in state bonding support to renovate the Bradley Center. The Bradley Center's board of directors told state officials that the building needed $40 million in renovations, so they reportedly agreed to raise the remaining $35 million on their own. On September 18, 2013, then-deputy NBA commissioner

Adam Silver Adam Silver (born April 25, 1962) is an American lawyer and sports executive who serves as the fifth and current commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He joined the NBA in 1992 and has held various positions within the l ...

toured the arena and said it was a few thousand square feet short of NBA standards, and also lacked numerous amenities. On April 16, 2014, Kohl announced an agreement to sell the franchise to New York City hedge-fund investors

Marc Lasry Marc Lasry (born September 23, 1959) is a Moroccan-American billionaire businessman and hedge fund manager. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Avenue Capital Group, and the co-owner of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks basketba ...

and

Wesley Edens Wesley Robert Edens (born October 30, 1961) is an American billionaire businessman and private equity investor. He is the co-founder of Fortress Investment Group and founder of New Fortress Energy. Edens is co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks NBA fra ...

. The deal included provisions for $100 million each from Kohl and the new ownership group, for a total of $200 million, toward the construction of a new downtown arena. The NBA then informed the Bucks that the franchise wouldn't be allowed to renew their lease on the Bradley Center, which would expire after the 2017-18 season, and that the team needed to have either a new arena completed or under construction by the beginning of 2018, or the franchise would be bought from Lasry and Edens, then sold to another ownership group, either in Las Vegas or Seattle, which would mean the certain departure of the Bucks from Milwaukee. On July 15, 2015, the

Wisconsin Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

approved funding for the new arena by a 21–10 margin, and on July 28, 2015, the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

approved funding by a 52-34 margin. On August 12, 2015, Governor Scott Walker signed the arena spending plan at

Wisconsin State Fair Park The Wisconsin State Fair Park is a fairgrounds and exhibition center in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. It has been the location of the Wisconsin State Fair since 1892. The fairgrounds are open year-round, hosting various expe ...

West Allis West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 census. History The name West Allis derives from Edward P. Allis, ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. The

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

city council voted 12–3 on September 22, 2015, to approve the plan. The city's Plan Commission gave unanimous conditional approval to the Bucks' general development plans for land in the Park East Corridor on November 23, while acknowledging possible parking problems in the area. On April 13, 2016, the Bucks signed a 30-year lease to play in the new arena. In addition, Marquette University has agreed to lease the arena for its home games, beginning in 2018. Unlike Marquette's previous agreement with the Bradley Center, the lease agreement with

Fiserv Fiserv, Inc. () is an American multinational company headquartered in Brookfield, Wisconsin that provides financial technology services to clients across the financial services sector, including: banks, thrifts, credit unions, securities broker ...

ends in the spring of 2025, allowing Marquette the option to decide to pursue the building of its own smaller arena for lesser-attended match-ups, and to only utilize the Fiserv Forum for larger rivalry games. The official groundbreaking was during the 2nd annual Bucks Block Party on June 18, 2016. On May 2, 2017, Bucks president Peter Feigin stated that construction of the arena remained on schedule and on budget. Feigin's announcement was from the site of the new arena, after the first roof truss was installed and bolted into place. The roof was officially topped off on August 24, 2017. On August 26, 2018, Fiserv Forum was officially opened in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the 4th annual Bucks Block Party. The first live event at Fiserv Forum was

The Killers The Killers are an American rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After going through a number of short-term bass players and drummers in t ...

with

Violent Femmes Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza (joined 200 ...

on September 4, 2018. The Bucks played their inaugural game at the Fiserv Forum during the preseason against the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

on October 3, 2018, a 116–82 Bucks victory. The Forum's regular-season home opener was played on October 19, 2018, against the Indiana Pacers. The Bucks won, 118–101. The Bucks' first season in the Forum was a great success, with the Bucks finishing the regular season with their first 60-win season since 1980–81. They also went 33–8 at the Forum, the second-best home record in the NBA. On April 14, 2019, the Forum hosted its first NBA playoff game, Game 1 of the first round between the Bucks and the Detroit Pistons. The Bucks won, 121–86. On December 22, 2019, the Bucks had their 50th consecutive sellout at the Forum, the longest such streak in franchise history, which started on November 16, 2018. On March 11, 2019, it was announced that the Fiserv Forum would host the

2020 Democratic National Convention The 2020 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that was held from August 17 to 20, 2020, at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and virtually across the United States. At the convention, delegates of ...

from July 13 to 16, 2020. It was later postponed to August 17–20, 2020, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in the United States. On June 24, 2020, it was announced that the convention would be downsized and instead held at the nearby

Wisconsin Center The Wisconsin Center (formerly Midwest Express Center, Midwest Airlines Center, Frontier Airlines Center and Delta Center) is a convention and exhibition center located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The center is part of a greater complex ...

. On February 22, 2020, the Bucks set a new attendance record for the Forum, when 18,290 attended to watch the Bucks play the Philadelphia 76ers. The Bucks won 119–98. This record was broken less than a week later, on February 28, 2020, as 18,412 fans watched the Bucks face off against the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

. The Bucks won 133–86. On July 11, 2021, Fiserv Forum hosted its first NBA Finals game, Game 3 between the Bucks and the Phoenix Suns. The Bucks won 120–100. On July 20, the Fiserv Forum also hosted Game 6 of the NBA Finals, where the Bucks would clinch their first NBA championship in 50 years, beating the Suns 105-98. The Bucks have had substantial success at Fiserv Forum since it opened, compiling a regular season record of 87–21 (.805 winning percentage) and a postseason record of 17-4 at the Forum.

Naming rights

On July 26, 2018, the Bucks agreed to a 25-year naming rights deal with

, a financial services technology company based in the Milwaukee suburb of Brookfield.

Concerts and events

During the Bucks' championship run in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

, the Deer District hosted viewing parties for fans in the plaza outside Fiserv Forum. As the team got further into the playoffs and into the NBA Finals, additional viewing areas were made on the former site of the Bradley Center, as well as another open area south of the Forum. In the plaza alone, there were over 25,000 fans watching the games, and with the additional viewing, areas added, the total figure of fans grew to over 65,000 for the Bucks' Finals-clinching win on July 20, 2021, though the Milwaukee Police Department estimated that the total figure of people in the vicinity of the Deer District was closer to 100,000. According to several sources, the viewing parties during the Bucks' championship run brought in over $70 million in additional revenue for local businesses in and around the Deer District. On September 27, 2021, Fiserv Forum announced that the Deer District would host viewing parties as well for the playoff-bound Milwaukee Brewers. On October 2nd, 2022, Fiserv Fourm held its first

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

game, the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

played the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

as part of the Blackhawks "Home Away from Home" series. The arena also continues a Milwaukee tradition for being the site of the New Year's Eve game for the Harlem Globetrotters, with 2020 being the only pause in decades.

Planning and design

The Milwaukee Bucks released the first images and details of their vision for the development of a new multi-purpose arena and sports and entertainment district to revitalize downtown Milwaukee on April 8, 2015. The images depicted early conceptual drawings of a new multi-purpose venue and entertainment district that will anchor a new development vision activated by sports, entertainment, residential and office uses. The site, which primarily sits between 4th Street and 6th Street from State Street to McKinley Avenue, will seamlessly link with active development on all sides, including Old World Third Street, Schlitz Park, The Brewery, the Milwaukee riverfront, Water Street and the Wisconsin Center. Populous and HNTB, two firms from Kansas City, lead the arena design team with participation from Milwaukee firm Eppstein Uhen Architects. The arena is intended to be the focal point of a "live block" zone that includes public space surrounded by both commercial and residential development. Initial renderings of the arena showed a transparent facade and a curved roof and side meant to evoke the water forms of nearby Lake Michigan and the

Milwaukee River The Milwaukee River is a river in the state of Wisconsin. It is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 19, 2011 Once a locus of industry, the river is now the c ...

. "Herb Kohl Way" was unveiled on the plaza outside of Fiserv Forum on August 26, 2018 to pay tribute to the former Bucks owner for his contributions leading up to the building of the arena. The plaza is home to restaurants and a beer garden, where people can gather year-round to watch sporting events on a large, outdoor television. In May 2019, the Bucks announced Fiserv Forum is the central building in the 30-acre development district around the arena newly named "Deer District." In February 2019,

Johnson Controls Johnson Controls International is an American Irish-domiciled multinational conglomerate headquartered in Cork, Ireland, that produces fire, HVAC, and security equipment for buildings. As of mid-2019, it employed 105,000 people in around 2,00 ...

unveiled a three-dimensional statue of their logo placed outside the Fiserv Forum, which can glow in multiple colors at night, and will specifically turn green after every Bucks victory. Fiserv Forum seating bowl

Fiserv Forum holds 17,500 people and has fewer luxury suites, but more club seating than the BMO Harris Bradley Center. The arena seats 17,385 for basketball games, 15,178 for ice hockey and indoor football, and up to 18,000 for concerts. It also features a layout and equipment for an

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

-regulation

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

rink and

ice show An ice show is an entertainment production which is primarily performed by ice skaters. Such shows may primarily be skating exhibitions, or may be musical and/or dramatic in nature, using skating as a medium in order to accompany a musical work ...

s such as '' Disney on Ice'', thus it still will be able to host the NCAA Frozen Four as the BMO Harris Bradley Center did in the past in 1993, 1997 and 2006. However, the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashvil ...

returned to the

UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena The UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (originally the Milwaukee Arena and formerly MECCA Arena and U.S. Cellular Arena) is an indoor arena located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The arena, which seats as many as 12,700 people and offers of floor space, is ...

in the 2016–17 season as they were not approached to play games in the arena. The Bucks are contractually bound not to recruit current tenants of the Panther Arena to move their events to the Fiserv Forum. Fiserv Forum has the largest symmetric scoreboard in the NBA.

References

External links

* {{Authority control National Basketball Association venues Basketball venues in Wisconsin Marquette Golden Eagles basketball venues Milwaukee Bucks venues Sports venues in Milwaukee Sports venues completed in 2018 Populous (company) buildings Indoor ice hockey venues in Wisconsin