Milwaukee Bucks owners Wes Edens and Marc Lasry, in conjunction with Milwaukee County executive Chris Abele and Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett stood proudly on the vacant land just north of the BMO Harris Bradley Center and unveiled the first renderings of a new multi-purpose arena on the site, to the applause of several people who wandered over from Old World 3rd Street.

"We are very excited to finally present a visual for the fans of the Bucks, and the residents of Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin," Edens said.

But the man of the hour was Kevin Chesnik, chair of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

In the rendering, a large, shamrock shaped swaths of concrete grew out of the new arena and toward I-43 and into the lower East Side of Milwaukee.

"This," said Chesnik, waving his hand across the large rendering, "is the Norquist Spur."

In an effort to draw fans from the surrounding suburbs – many of whom told the Bucks via online surveys that they had no interest in driving into Downtown or, if they accidentally did end up there, ever intended to get out of their car – the Bucks and lead architectural group Populous devised a spur that will allow fans to literally drive into the arena.

"We want to be a statewide brand," Lasry said. "And, to be that brand, we had to accommodate those people who just don’t want to associate with Downtown Milwaukee. This allows us to reach those fans. It was either this, or relocate the team to Menomonee Falls."

Chesnik said there has been a need, for about a decade, for traffic to be dispersed off I-43 and into the Downtown area and the lower East Side.

"The incorporation of the spur into the arena is not only a great idea to help those in Brookfield to get here, but to help drive traffic to the area around Ogden and Juneau Avenues, as well as the Riverwalk."

Planners will use blueprints of the brilliantly designed Park East Freeway to develop the Norquist Spur.

Rick White says he will start attending Bucks games again once the Norquist Spur is built.

"It's been about 10 years since I've gone east of Highway 100 and I'm looking forward to it. I might even eat at Ed Debevic's while I'm down there," says White. "I really loved the Park East Freeway, and once it came down, I stopped driving to Milwaukee."

The plan, during Bucks season, is to illuminate the spur with green and red lighting, except for the occasional throwback games where purple and silver lights will be used.

"It’s been a process," Lasry said of the unveil. "It’s taken a lot of energy and effort to do this, and we think, in the end, it will only help with the statewide branding of the organization."

Milwaukee Alderman Bob Donovan called the arena project "a boondoggle," and added that the Norquist Spur idea – and the idea of building anything ever, really – is "a boondoggle."