The Journal Sentinel building at 333 W. State St. is part of the location the Milwaukee Bucks are said to favor for their new arena. Credit: Mike De Sisti

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The Milwaukee Bucks have their sights set on downtown property now occupied by Journal Communications, the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and the Milwaukee Theatre as the future home of a new, multipurpose arena.

Sources familiar with the site-selection process say the three properties are the Bucks' dream site because of its proximity to county-owned Pere Marquette Park, located on N. Old World 3rd St. on the Milwaukee River, and the rest of downtown.

One source said the new Bucks' owners want to fast-track the site-selection process and hope to reach agreement with all parties within the next 45 days.

The Bucks also have visions of demolishing the BMO Harris Bradley Center and creating what is expected to be a mixed-use development involving retail, commercial and residential. That is a formula that increases the chances for a successful urban project, real estate and sports economists say.

The Bucks' plan is ambitious and laden with hurdles, both practical and political. Moreover, the give-and-take of negotiations needed to hammer out details of a plan destined to shape downtown for decades to come is in its infancy among the Bucks, Journal Communications executives, the Wisconsin Center District, the city and Milwaukee County, the sources say.

Publicly, the Bucks say no final decision has been made on what site is preferred, nor has the team or the business community outlined how the project will be financed. "Multiple sites are still being considered," a Bucks' spokesman said in an email, though Bucks owners Wes Edens and Marc Lasry have said they have a preferred site, which they've declined to identify.

Franklyn Gimbel, chairman of the Wisconsin Center District, which owns and operates the UWM Arena and the Milwaukee Theatre, has vigorously opposed demolition of the arena, first opened in 1950. Moreover, UWM is in the first year of a 10-year partnership with the Wisconsin Center District for naming rights and other university programming and has publicly opposed demolition of the arena.

The Wisconsin Center District board also committed to spending nearly $3 million for a new scoreboard in the UWM Arena and a three-year seat replacement plan. Those improvements were done on behalf of the UWM men's basketball program. The scoreboard has been installed and one-third of the seats in the arena have been replaced.

The theater, which underwent a $41.9 million makeover 11 years ago, still carries a debt load of $27.1 million and has underperformed in recent years. The theater also has a long and colorful history, which may prompt preservationists to oppose its demolition.

Gimbel said Friday that he has yet to meet with Bucks owners Edens, Lasry and Jamie Dinan, the trio of New York billionaires who now own the franchise, or representatives of the team. A meeting set for last Thursday never materialized, he said.

Gimbel acknowledged last week that he is lying low on his desire to expand the Wisconsin Center convention center until the arena question is addressed.

"It has been my view that we should not be out there looking for public financing at the present time unless and until the question of whether there will be a public financing component for the basketball arena is resolved," Gimbel said.

Both Lasry and Edens, as well as the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, have said there will need to be some element of public financing for an arena expected to cost between $400 million and $500 million.

The Journal complex

The Journal Communications complex at 333 W. State St. also presents its own set of challenges. As the newspaper industry has faced declining revenue in recent years, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has cut expenses and personnel, leaving an underutilized complex. Should the Bucks not reach agreement with Journal Communications, the Journal Square property is still considered a premium site.

In the bowels of the Journal Communications building, the newspaper presses that were installed in 1924 have largely been removed and papers are printed at the company's West Milwaukee plant. But there are questions whether some form of environmental remediation will be needed at Journal Communications. That could slow demolition and the pace the Bucks have set for a new arena. Edens has said he hopes to break ground as soon as next spring.

The old Milwaukee Sentinel building next door at 918 N. 4th St. stands vacant.

Journal Communications executives also are consumed on finalizing a business deal they struck with E.W. Scripps Co. of Cincinnati. The two media firms announced in late July an agreement to merge broadcast operations while spinning off their newspapers into a separate company. The Journal Sentinel would be the flagship newspaper for the new company, to be called Journal Media Group and based in Milwaukee. The transaction is expected to close early next year.

In a statement, Steven J. Smith, chairman and CEO of Journal Communications, said the company is proud of its heritage as a "cornerstone company" in the history of Milwaukee.

"We expect that heritage to continue as we plan to publish the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for many years and launch the headquarters of the new Journal Media Group next year." Smith added that the firm's focus is on its employees, shareholders and the community.

He acknowledged, however, that "speculation is ongoing that our Journal Square property would be part of the development of a new arena." He indicated the company "is certainly willing to listen as the community moves to a consensus on what to do." But Journal Communications employees, he said, "need to be located in a place where we can continue to be a relevant, meaningful company serving our community and state."

"We cannot speak for the Milwaukee Bucks, however we understand that they have not reached a final decision on the location of an arena. We are excited about the ideas that they have articulated for the development of downtown Milwaukee and we do not want to stand in the way of progress for our city," Smith said.

The Journal Communications block, bounded by W. State St., N. 4th St., W. Kilbourn Ave., and N. Old World Third St., by itself is not large enough to accommodate an NBA-sized arena.

Other potential sites

The Bucks also are paying close attention to sites in other areas of downtown, as well as land just north of the BMO Harris Bradley Center, though that site is viewed less favorably. The franchise faces a National Basketball Association deadline of fall 2017 to have a new arena in place.

In Sacramento, the Sacramento Bee reported last week that the Kings' new arena is scheduled to open in 2016. The NBA, however, has given the Kings a one-year grace period to finish construction, the newspaper reported.

The other more prominent sites in Milwaukee include a city-owned parking lot at N. 4th St. and W. Wisconsin Ave., just across the street from the convention center, and property near N. 2nd and W Michigan streets.