There are certain time-honored rituals of life as a Milwaukeean, things passed on through years and generations. Spring only exists for a day. The Cardinals destroy any Brewers joy you might have. There are plans to revive Grand Avenue Mall. And then, of course, there's the decade-long tradition of hearing rumors of IKEA finally deeming the Cream City worthy of a blue-and-yellow cathedral of inexpensive furniture and tasty Swedish meatballs.

Today, however, you might have to take that last one off the list.

According to a report from BizTimes, the Swedish furniture giant is "considering" opening its first Wisconsin location in Oak Creek. BizTimes sources say an official announcement about the development could come "as early as this week." A later report from JSOnline quoted a source as calling an Oak Creek IKEA "a done deal" with an announcement set for Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

The BizTimes report claims the potential IKEA store would land on the northwest quadrant of West Drexel Avenue and I-94, anchoring a large mixed-use development. Northwestern Mutual currently owns that land.

The report contains no official confirmation of an Oak Creek IKEA location; one source tells the BizTimes a deal hasn't been finalized yet, while Oak Creek Mayor Steve Scaffidi did not comment for the story. IKEA public affairs manager Joseph Roth also told the BizTimes that "the company has not yet approved a Wisconsin store."

However, Roth did provide these juicy quotes:

"We’re looking at land and evaluating our options throughout the Milwaukee area," Roth said, adding that he is "very familiar with Oak Creek," but would not confirm the city as a potential site. ... "Anywhere is a potential location for us," Roth said. "At this point we do not own land in Wisconsin, but we are discussing potential land ownership."

Oh, you Swedish teases!

So will Oak Creek be the home of Wisconsin's first IKEA? It sounds plausible. Past projected sites, such as Bayshore, the Miller parkway or Park East, have filled out now, and while some have considered the Menomonee Valley a possible IKEA landing spot, executive director Corey Zetts told OnMilwaukee that IKEA had not inquired about the area and that she wasn't even sure the Valley had the footprint needed for the furniture giant.

The report can't make it official – note BizTimes' careful headline wording of IKEA "considering" Oak Creek, not actually coming to Oak Creek – and there are questions about the location. The Schaumburg IKEA, after all, is just a little more than 70 miles away from Oak Creek, putting the two stores fairly close together. Add in the years of disregarding rumors – from when the retailer poked around metro Milwaukee in 2005 to just early last year in Sun Prairie and many, many times in between – and we'll likely believe it when we see it.

But we really want to see it.