Bucks tweak plans, add larger roof for beer garden
More details coming in weeks ahead
A beer garden connecting the plaza in front of the new Milwaukee Bucks arena to Old World 3rd St. will have a roof and other amenities to protect it from the elements, according to updated plans filed with the city Tuesday.
The plans show a beer garden through which, on event days, thousands of fans can pass on their way to and from the new arena, Bucks President Peter Feigin said in an interview.
“It also will be a great place to have food and beverages and watch games,” Feigin said.
The updated plans, crafted by Rinka Chung Architecture, call for 75% of the beer garden to be under cover.
Feigin said that while the area will be protected, “it’s not like it’s going to always be 60 or 70 degrees there.”
The renderings show informal seating and gathering areas, a long gas fireplace and a large-screen TV.
The beer garden is one portion of the entertainment block that the Bucks plan for the site that also includes land that held a large city-owned parking ramp east of N. 4th St., between W. Highland and W. Juneau avenues. The “Legends” ramp, nicknamed for the sports bar on the ground level, was torn down as arena construction got underway last year.
The beer garden will open onto Old World 3rd St. just south of Ugly’s bar, 1125 N. Old World 3rd St.
Workers are busy with site preparation, and more details about what the Bucks plan for the entertainment block are coming in the weeks ahead.
The Bucks plan to construct three buildings at the west end of the beer garden facing the arena, and those will have bars, restaurants and other amenities. Previous renderings filed with the city show a brewing kettle in one of the commercial buildings.
“We’re pretty much on track for what we said we would be doing,” Feigin said. Announcements about the commercial tenants are coming in a few weeks, he said.
Not emphasized in the beer garden renderings are concessions, although there appears to be a stand in the background. Also, one wall features the Miller High Life “Girl in the Moon,” an advertising image that dates to 1907.
“The Miller High Life Girl in the Moon has come to represent both the brand and the company that created her,” the company’s website says. However, it appears that the image in the Bucks’ rendering is a “placeholder,” artwork that’s in the background of an architect’s rendering.
Feigin said that “Miller is already a partner” with the Bucks, but the image in the rendering is not meant to be a clue about the brewery’s involvement in the entertainment block.
“My expectation is that they’ll be involved in some manner,” he said, adding that an announcement about a brewery “is not part of this submission.”
The most important change in the new plans is that they show more protection from the weather and more detail about lighting and finishes, Feigin said. The changes were significant enough to require re-submittal to the city, he said.
Such details are being closely watched by bar and restaurant owners on Old World 3rd and Water streets.
The Bucks say they want to complement and not siphon customers away from those businesses.
“We’ve talked with them throughout this process,” Feigin said. “I think a rising tide is good for all ships.”
The $524 million arena and adjoining parking lot are being constructed with $250 million in public money. The Bucks’ development arm is paying for the various entertainment block projects and the $31 million practice facility that opened in August.
The beer garden plans will be reviewed by the city’s Plan Commission Oct. 23 and then the Common Council’s Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee Nov. 21, with consideration by the full council on Nov. 28.