Sporting events to see that won’t break bank
Milwaukee has options that are easy on budget
Perhaps your budget is stretched by the holidays. Maybe $46 a ticket seems like a lot to spend for kids who may not fully appreciate the Giannis Antetokounmpo experience from Fiserv Forum’s upper deck.
For someone looking to get the family out of the house over break or throughout a long winter, there are more wallet-friendly options for your sports entertainment dollar in the Milwaukee area.
Among them:
Admirals hockey
The American Hockey League team plays at the venerable UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, 400 W. Kilbourn Ave. Tickets in the upper lev-
els start at $13, and the Admirals offer a wide variety of promotions, including several games with reduced prices. The team plays four to six home games per month from December through the end of the regular season in April.
Wave soccer
The Major Arena Soccer League team, which also plays at the Arena, has its cheapest single-game tickets priced at $16.50. The Wave season runs from Dec. 1 to April 14, and each of the 12 home games has a theme, promotion or giveaway. The experience is a constant barrage of entertainment, and players stick around after the action to meet fans on the field.
Marquette men’s basketball
Although seat prices for premium Golden Eagles games for Division I basketball at Fiserv Forum can rival those of Bucks games, some in December are far less of a stretch.
Upper-level tickets for non-conference games are priced at $17, and some can be found in the secondary market for as little as $10. Games started in November; Big East Conference action begins in January and runs through March 16.
The new arena is located at 1111 Vel R. Phillips Ave.
Marquette women’s basketball
The nationally ranked Golden Eagles play at the on-campus Al McGuire Center, 770 N. 12th St. With the exception of one game, tickets are priced at $5 for general admission and $10 for reserved. (Those prices are double for Notre Dame on Dec. 22.) The regular season runs through March 3.
UW-Milwaukee men’s basketball
How about catching a game between two state Division I men’s teams for $11.50 a ticket? The Panthers host UWGreen Bay on Dec. 29 to open their Horizon League schedule.
After a road-heavy non-conference schedule for much of December, the team plays much of January and the second half of February at the arena that bears its name.
UW-Milwaukee women’s basketball
The Panthers, who have won at least 20 games each of the past two seasons, play their home schedule at the oncampus Klotsche Center, 3409 N Downer Ave. General admission for all seats is $7. One big highlight of that schedule: Florida State, an NCAA tournament team last season, visits for a 7 p.m. game on Dec. 20.
Small colleges
Given that they play at the Division III level, area schools tend to have a higher percentage of local athletes than their Division I counterparts.
Concordia, MSOE and Wisconsin Lutheran all play Division III men’s and women’s basketball in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference in the winter.
Concordia and MSOE both have men’s hockey teams and Concordia also offers women’s hockey.
Concordia’s basketball teams play at the R. John Buuck Field House on campus, 12800 N. Lakeshore Dr., Mequon. Hockey is played at the Ozaukee Ice Center, 5505 W. Pioneer Rd., Mequon.
MSOE plays at the Kern Center, 1245 N Broadway.
Wisconsin Lutheran plays at its oncampus Recreation Complex, 8800 W. Bluemound Rd., on the MilwaukeeWauwatosa border.
Carroll University in Waukesha also has Division III basketball. The Pioneers are part of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin and play at Van Male Field House, 227 NW Barstow St.
High schools
The extended Milwaukee area has more than 100 schools playing boys and girls basketball, as well as 12 boys hockey teams and a handful of girls hockey teams.
Journal Sentinel digital subscribers can find daily basketball schedules and results on JSOnline, as well as a list of the top suburban games every day of the season. Basketball typically plays Tuesdays and Fridays, hockey Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the holiday break includes numerous tournaments and showcases.