View source for BMO Harris Bradley Center

{{Refimprove|date=December 2008}}
{{Infobox stadium
| stadium_name        = BMO Harris Bradley Center
| nickname            = The B.C.
| logo_image          = [[Image:Bmo harris bradley center2.jpg|200px|BMO Harris Bradley Center logo]]
| image               = [[Image:Bradley Center.jpg|200px|Bradley Center]]<br> [[File:Bradleycenterhockey.JPG|200px|Admirals]] <br>[[Image:Milwaukee_Iron_At_The_Bradley_Center.jpg|200px]]
| fullname            = 
| location            = 1001 North Fourth Street<br>[[Milwaukee|Milwaukee, WI]] 53203-1314
| coordinates         = {{coord|43|2|37|N|87|55|1|W|type:landmark_scale:1000|display=it}}
| broke_ground        = October 20, 1986
| opened              = October 1, 1988
| owner               = Ben Brooke 
| operator            = Bradley Center Sports and Entertainment Corporation
| construction_cost   = $91 million<br>(${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US|91000000|1988}}}} in {{CURRENTYEAR}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}})
| architect           = [[Populous (company)|Populous]] (formerly HOK Sport)<br>Kahler Slater<br>Torphy Architects<br>Zimmerman Design Group<ref>[http://www.nba.com/bucks/media/media_guide_1011.pdf 2010-2011 Milwaukee Bucks Media Guide]</ref>
| structural engineer = [[Thornton Tomasetti]]<ref>http://s3.amazonaws.com/tt_assets/pdf/SportsEntertainmentBrochure.pdf</ref>
| services engineer   = M-E Engineers, Inc.<ref>[http://www.me-engineers.com/projects/?office=denver&category=professional_arena M-E Engineers, Inc. | Projects: Professional Sports Arenas]</ref>
| general_contractor  = Huber, Hunt & Nichols<ref>http://basketball.ballparks.com/NBA/MilwaukeeBucks/index.htm</ref>
| tenants             = [[Milwaukee Bucks]] ([[National Basketball Association|NBA]]) (1988–present)<br>[[Milwaukee Mustangs]] ([[Arena Football League|AFL]]) (1994-2001, 2009–present)<br>[[Milwaukee Admirals]] ([[American Hockey League|AHL]]) (1988–present)<br>[[Marquette University]] ([[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]]) (1988–present)<br>[[Milwaukee Wave]] ([[Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008)|MISL]]) (1988–2003)
| seating_capacity    = Wrestling: 18,800<br>[[Concerts]]: 20,000<br>[[College Basketball]]: 18,850<br>[[NBA]] [[Basketball]]: <br>18,633 (1988-1997),<br>18,717 (1997-present)<br>[[Ice Hockey]]: 17,845<br>[[Indoor Soccer]]: 17,800
|}}
The '''BMO Harris Bradley Center''' is an [[list of indoor arenas|indoor arena]], located on the northwest corner of North 4th and West State Streets, in [[Neighborhoods of Milwaukee#Milwaukee's Downtown|Downtown]] [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]].

It is home to the [[Milwaukee Bucks]] of the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]], the [[Marquette University]] men's basketball team, the [[Milwaukee Admirals]] of the [[American Hockey League|AHL]] (and formerly of the [[International Hockey League (1945-2001)|IHL]]) and the [[Milwaukee Mustangs]] of the [[Arena Football League|AFL]]. It is also the former home of the [[Milwaukee Wave]] of the [[Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008)|MISL]], from 1988–2003, the [[Milwaukee Mustangs (1994–2001)|original Milwaukee Mustangs]] of the [[Arena Football League|AFL]] from 1994–2001, and the Badger Hockey Showdown from 1989–2002.

==History==
The arena was opened on October 1, 1988 with an exhibition hockey game between the [[Chicago Blackhawks]] and the [[Edmonton Oilers]]. At $90 million, it was meant to be a modern replacement of its current cross-street neighbor, [[U.S. Cellular Arena|The MECCA]] (currently named the U.S. Cellular Arena), which was built in 1950.  The MECCA, during much of its time operating as a NBA facility, had the league's smallest seating capacity, holding just over 11,000 people.  Funds to build the Center were donated as a gift to the State of Wisconsin by philanthropists, Jane Pettit and [[Lloyd Pettit]], in memory of Jane's late father, [[Harry Lynde Bradley]] of the [[Allen-Bradley]] company.

Despite being one of the premier NBA facilities when completed in 1988, the BMO Harris Bradley Center (formerly Bradley Center) is currently one of the oldest active [[NBA]] arenas ([[The Palace of Auburn Hills]] in [[Metro Detroit|suburban Detroit]] and [[Sleep Train Arena|ARCO Arena (now Sleep Train Arena)]] in [[Sacramento, California]] also opened in 1988), only behind [[Madison Square Garden]] in New York City (which was renovated in 2011), and [[Oracle Arena]] in Oakland (which was significantly remodeled during the mid-1990s). The BMO Harris Bradley Center is unique in that it was a gift from a family without any provision for the building's long-term capital needs or annual operating expenses. While the facility is self-sufficient, the BMO Harris Bradley Center tenants such as the Bucks are at a disadvantage compared with other NBA teams due to the arrangement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bradley Center a Home-Court Disadvantage|first=Don|last=Walker|url=http://www.jsonline.com/business/36087854.html|newspaper=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]|date=December 13, 2008|accessdate=April 16, 2011}}</ref>

Building a new, state-of-the-art downtown arena has been proposed by Bucks owner, U.S. Senator [[Herb Kohl]], but the community reaction to the idea of a publicly funded arena has been mostly negative. In 2009, Wisconsin Governor [[Jim Doyle]] 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 needs $23 million in renovations, so they reportedly agreed to raise the remaining $18 million on their own.<ref>{{cite news |title=Doyle Budget Includes Help for Bradley Center|first=Don|last=Walker|url=http://www.jsonline.com/business/41916182.html |newspaper=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]|date=March 26, 2009|accessdate=April 16, 2011}}</ref>

Over the summer of 2010 the arena's longtime Sony [[Jumbotron]] scoreboard was replaced with a new 3.5 million pixel LED unit manufactured by TS Sports and Lighthouse Technologies, and was put into service in October 2010 at the start of the Admirals season. Unlike many other NBA and NHL scoreboards however, the bottom panel also has an LED screen, allowing display of many images above the floor itself rather than a static image of a sponsor or team logo.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bradley Center Unveils Details of New Scoreboard|first=Don|last=Walker|url=http://www.jsonline.com/business/96065599.html|newspaper=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]|date=June 10, 2010|accessdate=April 16, 2011}}</ref>

On May 21, 2012, the Bucks, owner [[Herb Kohl]] and representatives from [[BMO Harris Bank]] announced that the bank had officially purchased the naming rights for the Bradley Center, and it would now be called the "BMO Harris Bradley Center".<ref>{{cite news |title=Naming Rights for Bradley Center Sold to BMO Harris|first=Don|last=Walker|url=http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/naming-rights-for-bradley-center-sold-to-bmo-harris-ud5g5oi-152280455.html?page=1#!page=1&pageSize=10&sort=newestfirst|newspaper=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]|date=May 21, 2012|accessdate=May 21, 2012}}</ref>

==Notable events==
The arena hosted the NCAA [[Frozen Four]] finals in 1993, 1997 and 2006 and the [[Great Midwest Conference]] men's basketball tournament in 1995.

In March 2010, the arena hosted the first and second-round games in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, for the fifth time since 1992.

Early auditions for [[American Idol (season 10)|the tenth season of ''American Idol'']] were held at the arena on July 21, 2010.

The arena hosted [[Taylor Swift]]'s [[Speak Now World Tour]] on June 8, 2011. During which, the event was broadcast on national television during the 2011 [[CMT Music Awards]] when Swift accepted the award for Video of the Year via satellite. She did not attend the awards ceremony in order to perform the concert.

The BMO Harris Bradley Center also played host to the first [[UFC]] event in [[Wisconsin]]: [[UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle]] on August 14, 2011.

==Images==
<gallery>
File:Bradley Center NE Entrance.jpg|Southeast entrance
File:Bradley Center SE Entrance.jpg|Southeast entrance
</gallery>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.bmoharrisbradleycenter.com/ BMOHarrisBradleyCenter.com]
*[http://www.nba.com/bucks/features/TeamFacilities.html#bradleycenter BMO Harris Bradley Center - Bucks.com]
*[http://www.gomarquette.com/facilities/bradleycenter.html BMO Harris Bradley Center - Marquette University Athletics]
{{Commons category}}
{{s-start-collapsible|header={{s-sta|et}}}}
{{succession box
 | title = Home of the<br>[[Milwaukee Bucks]]
 | years = 1988 &ndash; present
 | before = [[U.S. Cellular Arena|MECCA Arena]]
 | after = current
}}
{{succession box
 | title = Host of the<br>[[Frozen Four]]
 | years = 1993
 | before = [[Times Union Center|Knickerbocker Arena]]<br>[[Albany, New York]]
 | after = [[RiverCentre|Saint Paul Civic Center]]<br>[[St. Paul, Minnesota]]
}}
{{succession box
 | title = Host of the<br>[[Frozen Four]]
 | years = 1997
 | before = [[Riverfront Coliseum]]<br>[[Cincinnati, Ohio]]
 | after = [[TD Garden|FleetCenter]]<br>[[Boston, Massachusetts]]
}}
{{succession box
 | title = Host of the<br> [[Frozen Four]]
 | years = [[2006 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament|2006]]
 | before = [[Value City Arena]]<br>[[Columbus, Ohio]]
 | after = [[Scottrade Center]]<br>[[St. Louis, Missouri]]
}}
{{end}}
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[[Category:Event venues established in 1988]]
[[Category:Basketball venues in the United States]]
[[Category:Basketball venues in Wisconsin]]
[[Category:National Basketball Association venues]]
[[Category:College basketball venues in the United States]]
[[Category:Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States]]
[[Category:Indoor soccer venues in the United States]]
[[Category:Marquette Golden Eagles basketball venues]]
[[Category:Milwaukee Bucks arenas]]
[[Category:Milwaukee Admirals]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Milwaukee, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:College ice hockey venues in the United States]]
[[Category:Arena football venues]]
{{Wikipedia}}