Eric Nehm, ESPN Wisconsin 6y

A glimpse at a new era in Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE - As guests to the 7th Annual Wisconsin Sports Awards crossed the threshold into the Fiserv Forum for the first time, they were greeted with light as the remnants of a sunny Milwaukee afternoon came through the glass facade of the east atrium of the Milwaukee Bucks new arena and reverberated off the white interior walls and 100 foot high ceiling.

As they rode up the escalator to the main concourse, they saw WSAs on the video board adorning the north wall before joining the business leaders of Wisconsin and the state's top athletes from high school, college, and the professional ranks. While they mingled, the open concourse allowed them to see the stage and the Wisconsin Sports Awards prepared below, as well as their first glimpse at the new scoreboard.

And finally, as they walked down the stairs to their seats they saw the totality of the scoreboard, which the Bucks call the biggest and baddest scoreboard in the NBA, and the seating bowl of the Fiserv Forum.

"It's really unbelievable," Bucks owner Jamie Dinan said. "It's like you walked into your dream house and it's even better than you expected."

Dinan and fellow owner Marc Lasry had much to be proud of as they walked the Wheels Up Blue Carpet at the 7th Annual Wisconsin Sports Awards, a private event held annually by Good Karma Brands. Just over four years have passed from the day Lasry and Wes Edens came to Milwaukee to announce they would be purchasing the Bucks from long-time owner Herb Kohl and an arena has been completed.

"It's spectacular," Lasry said. "It's a little bit surreal because you sort of think back. Could we do this? Would we be able to do it? Could you do it this fast? And we've been able to do it."

"If you think about it, it's been four years. I don't think anyone thought this was going to happen. The only reason it happened was I think the governor was on board, everybody [in the city and state] got on board and it was all a team effort."

Lasry and Dinan accepted The Game Changer Award from Good Karma Brands CEO Craig Karmazin to help wrap up the evening's show. A congratulatory video featuring Kohl, Marquette University president Mike Lovell, Marquette men’s basketball coach Steve Wojciechowski, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver also accompanied the award, which helped highlight all of the parties that worked together to make the project a reality.

"This is just the next chapter of Bucks basketball," Bucks senior vice president Alex Lasry said. "I think when you look around and you look at this entire development, I think what you're seeing is Milwaukee taking the next step and becoming a real top-tier city with a real entertainment focus."

"By having the Wisconsin Sports Awards, what we're really saying is, 'This is not just a basketball arena. This is an entertainment arena.' This is going to be an arena that's going to have a lot of diversity in what comes in here and I think that's something Milwaukee's been missing in trying to make it a destination city and trying to make it a city for younger people."

As the private event's guests got their first look at the new arena, the Bucks contingent discussed what they felt set the Fiserv Forum apart from other venues.

Dinan brought up the unique "opera suites," as well as "what's in the back of the house." He believes many of the things people will never really see - technology, Wi-Fi, green rooms for performers, and locker rooms - are what really makes the building special.

Lasry went with something that was on full display on Wednesday night.

"One of the things we saw in one of the arenas, on one of the levels, was everything was open," Lasry said, speaking of the tour Bucks officials took of arenas across the country and the world. "You could actually see the court. A lot of the time, when you're getting food, you can't see anything and you have to look at the game on the TVs. I think we thought that was a great idea. Let's keep everything open."

Alex agreed with his father Marc about the openness of the Fiserv Forum, but made sure to mention what went into their thought process on each of the ideas.

"I think for us, it was going around the country and internationally and taking the best ideas and then trying to make it one bit better," Alex Lasry said. "I think that was what was fun."

"The thing I think I'm most proud of though and I think it's one of the most unique things are the gender-neutral bathrooms. I think we are the first arena to do that and I think that really speaks to what we're trying to do to make this a welcoming place for everyone."

The debate will likely continue for months in the Bucks offices, but for at least one night, they can all agree the Fiserv Forum served as a welcoming venue to guests for the 7th Annual Wisconsin Sports Awards. Now it's time to move on to the rest of the city, state, and world.

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