Milwaukee Bucks locker room is more like a suite
Bigger everything, and a kitchen in new space
There’s a Giannis sized shower stall, an extra deep therapy tub and illuminated nameplates above the lockers at the Milwaukee Bucks snazzy new “player suite” at the new arena.
Gone are the days when Bucks players got their post-game grub from food stations in the hallway outside their locker room at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. The new digs include a kitchenserving area.
“It’s like a Milwaukee Bucks campus,” said Barry Baum, the Bucks senior vice president for communications.
The complex, on the north end of the new $524 million arena, includes the locker room, with adjoining lounge and kitchen. There’s also a weight room and separate space for medical exams and physical therapy.
And the tub. At 4 feet deep, 13 feet long and 8 feet wide, it can accommodate more than a few Bucks.
“It has the option to be both hot or cold water,” said Shane Marshall, senior scheduling engineer for Mortenson Construction, construction manager for the arena project.
“Here, it’s going to primarily function as a cold tub for after games.”
The Bucks part of the arena covers about 17,000 square feet. That includes 11,000 square feet for the locker room and lounge, coaches locker rooms, conference room, office, physical therapy, hydrotherapy, weight room, interview room and laundry, the Bucks said.
The arena also includes about 6,000 square feet for the players entrance, family room suite, mascot room, owner suite, boardroom suite and a dancers locker room.
The visitors’ locker room is about 10,000 square feet and there are locker rooms and a lounge for officials.
The arena includes a separate suite for the Marquette University Golden Eagles men’s basketball team. That includes a locker room for players, a separate meeting room, an office for head coach Steve Wojciechowski and another area for his assistant coaches.
While sharp looking and state-ofthe-art, the Bucks “campus” has slightly less of the “wow” factor found in the team’s privately financed $31 million practice facility across N. 6th St. from the new arena. The practice facility opened last summer.
That’s due, in part, to the sheer size of the two-story practice facility — it’s more like a lavish fitness club, medical facility, restaurant and gathering area where the players spend the bulk of their days.
Marshall said there were some design elements that the Bucks carried over from the training center to their space at the arena.
“There are similar products and design touches at the training center that they put in here,” he said.
The new arena, built with $250 million in taxpayer money, opens in late summer. The building is owned by the Wisconsin Center District and leased to the Bucks. The team will operate and maintain the building and retain all revenue from events held there.
The NBA schedule for next season has not yet been released, but the Bucks have announced numerous concerts, starting with a Sept. 13 Kevin Hart comedy show.