The Bradley Center, which has been in the spotlight in recent weeks as a possible sale of the Milwaukee Bucks failed to materialize, is close to finalizing a lease renewal with Marquette University and is negotiating a lease renewal with the Milwaukee Admirals.

The downtown Milwaukee sporting facility is also looking to attract events to fill 20 open spots on its schedule that had been occupied by the Milwaukee Wave, the professional soccer team, which is moving its games next season to the U.S. Cellular Arena. The move by the Wave across West State Street will cost the Bradley Center an estimated $310,000 a year in lease payments.

The Wave had been tenant in the building since it was open in 1988 as a result of a $70 million donation from the late Jane Bradley Pettit.

“We are looking at a variety of options for those dates to ensure that building is continuing its prominent role in the community,” said Gerrit Ostermick, vice president and chief financial officer of the Bradley Center Sports and Entertainment Corp., which manages the facility. “This is a very big opportunity for us as some of these are prime dates and prime time slots.”

The Bradley Center recently released its financial results for the fiscal year 2002, which ended June 30, 2002, that showed the facility had a $4.98 million net loss, most of which was attributed to a $3.8 million depreciation expense. The center had $18.1 million in operating revenue, down from $21.1 million the previous year.

A spokesman for the Bradley Center said “there was general agreement” on a lease renewal with Marquette University, one that is fairly identical to the Marquette’s previous lease, which expired after the 2002-03 season. The Milwaukee university paid $17,500 a game under its previous lease.

Negotiations continue with the Milwaukee Admirals on a lease renewal. The hockey team’s lease also expired after the 2002-03 season. The Admirals paid $10,000 per game under the previous lease.

“The Admirals are important to our community and our talks have been good,” the spokesman said. “We understand the challenges they face. We have a good relationship and we expect to be able to come to an agreement in the near future.”

A spokesperson for the Admirals could not be reached for comment. The facility’s lease with its primary tenant, the Milwaukee Bucks, expires Sept. 30, 2004. The team pays no rent and receives 27.5 percent of total gross receipts from concessions other than programs, merchandise, and food and beverage in suites. The team also receives 13.75 percent of gross revenue from food and beverage in suites at all Bradley Center events.

Ostermick said the Bradley Center paid the Bucks $2.1 million above its normal shared revenue in its fiscal year 2002. In all, the facility paid the Bucks $4.9 million. Another payment is expected for the fiscal year 2003, which ended June 30, 2003, but he declined to reveal how much the payment would be.

Ostermick said Bradley Center officials were having on-going discussions with the Bucks, but they declined to say if they had begun lease renewal negotiations.

Ostermick declined to reveal financial figures for fiscal year 2003, but said the Bradley Center had a good year in terms of the number of events, estimated at about 180. The list was highlighted by the return of the Bucks to the National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs, along with several big name concerts, including Paul McCartney, Elton John and Billy Joel and The Dixie Chicks. The Bradley Center financial picture is getting more attention in recent weeks as the sale of the Bucks fell through. U.S. Senator Herb Kohl, who owns the Bucks, was close to a deal with former NBA star Michael Jordan, but Kohl recently pulled the team off the market.

Several observers said the stalled $75 million renovation of the Bradley Center will impede any attempt by Kohl to sell the team. Since Kohl’s announcement that he would not sell the team to Jordan, there has been increased speculation that a local investment group will be formed to try and buy a majority interest in the next few months.

There is also some hope that the recent attempt by Kohl to sell the team will spur the renovation project, which some observers do not expect to occur unless there is a merger between the Bradley Center Board and the public board that oversees the Midwest Airlines Convention Center.

“You would hope this would spur some action because nothing has been going on,” said a political source. “A merger makes a lot of sense, but you have a lot of egos involved and no one wanting to take a back seat.”

The Bradley Center’s renovation plans include an addition to the East Atrium of the building for a year-round restaurant, store and new ticket office. Plans also include a 40,000-square-foot service level expansion and a 30,000-square-foot multilevel expansion on the facility’s north end that would house a club lounge, food court, multi-sport interactive zone, pub and office. Speculation has also increased in recent weeks that the Bradley Center would try to sell naming rights, a move that would likely have to receive approval from the Bradley family.

The spokesman said Bradley Center officials believe “there is still merit” to looking at the merger of the two facilities.

“Currently, the Wisconsin Center is focused on other things in getting the Milwaukee Theatre project completed,” the spokesman said. “It is our current expectation that we will continue to have dialogue in the future.”

Milwaukee Alderman Thomas Nardelli, a long-time member of the Wisconsin Center Board, said the Wisconsin Center Board needed to take care of its own issues first.

“A single board to oversee an entertainment complex from Fourth to Sixth streets and from Wisconsin Avenue to Juneau is a very good idea,” he said. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out it should be done. What is difficult is figuring out how it should be done.”

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