The Milwaukee Bucks kicked off its 50th season today as co-owners Michael Fascitelli, Marc Lasry, Wes Edens and Jamie Dinan, said they have seen a positive return on their 2014 investment with an increase in franchise value and progress in the arena district development.
“When we bought the team three years ago, we talked about making this a world class organization in every respect,” Edens said. “That starts with the facilities and the people who run them.”
Media day was held at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Sports Science Center, the Bucks’ new 77,500-square-foot training facility on 6th Street and Juneau Avenue, near the site of the new arena, which is still under construction. The training facility’s opening in early August completed the first step of the Bucks’ downtown development plans. Construction of a parking structure for the arena will be completed in November.
The Bucks sustained income losses for the 2016-17 season, according to ESPN. But Edens said what is more important is that the value of the franchise has increased.
In 2014, the current owners bought the franchise for $550 million from Herb Kohl. They say the value of the team has now increased to $2.2 billion.
“I think that losing money is a reality of running an (NBA) team,” Edens said. “But the league itself is in a great place, the demographics are in a great place and I think that will reflect through the economics of it.”
Lasry said the franchise is in a better position now than during its previous ownership and expressed optimism about the franchise’s next five years.
“One of the things we said four years ago was, we are going to build a new arena, we are going to build a new (training) facility and we are going to win a championship,” Lasry said. “You can see we are progressing and I think in the next three to five years, we will have accomplished all those goals.”
