Milwaukee Bucks Deer District real estate project.
Source: Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks, in their quest to repeat as NBA champions, will begin this weekend against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Off the court, the team is seeking $4 million a year for the property rights to its interior plaza. deer districta 30-acre property that sits outside of his arena.
In an interview with CNBC, Bucks president Peter Feigin described the naming rights asset as obtaining keys to “a city that we have created within the state of Wisconsin.” The Deer District is part of the team’s economic development plan, to which taxpayers contributed $250 million. And the project also gave the Bucks their $500 million-plus arena, which opened in 2018.
The Bucks’ ownership group includes high-profile investors Marc Lasry, Wes Edens and Jamie Dinan. The consortium bought the franchise for $550 million in 2014. It is now worth $1.9 billion, up slightly from $1.62 billion in 2020, according to Forbes.
The Bucks are counting on the Deer District to help generate more revenue outside of the NBA.
“What pro teams are underestimating now is: You create the mothership and feed it an NBA team that’s successful, and then you raise the waters around you,” said Feigin, who also serves as president of the arena. of the team, Fiserv Forum.
Apartment building renderings in Milwaukee’s Deer District
Source: Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks own
Over the years, more professional sports clubs have added real estate income to capitalize on the popularity of their brands.
The Golden State Warriors operate Chase Towers, the commercial and residential buildings outside of Chase Center. That helped boost its valuation to $5.6 billion, up from more than $3 billion before the pandemic. Los Angeles Clippers owner and former Microsoft CEO Steve Baller will relocate his team to Inglewood and take advantage of real estate around the $1.2 billion Intuit Dome. That could increase the value of the Clippers.
In Major League Baseball, the Atlanta Braves created the atlanta battery, leisure and residential area. The Ricketts family, owners of the Chicago Cubs, also own real estate surrounding historic Wrigley Field. NFL team owner Jerry Jones created “The star” – a 91-acre mixed-use development in Frisco, Texas, where the Cowboys practice.
Team-driven real estate projects are cities within cities, where people “live, work and play,” said Jessi Sanchez, senior vice president at the sports valuation and consulting firm. Playfly Premier Partnerships. The company advised the Atlanta Falcons with the naming rights to Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Owners are looking to make more money from people who want to be close to live sporting events, even if they’re not inside the arenas, Sanchez said. “Now they’re real estate developers,” she said. “They’re not just a sports team anymore.”
Sánchez compared the Deer District to the Cubs’ entertainment district. “Gallagher Way”. The MLB team sold the naming rights to the global insurance company. Arthur J. Gallagher and company. listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Apartment building renderings in Milwaukee’s Deer District
Source: Milwaukee Bucks
Feigin, the Bucks executive, said his team would “take advantage of opportunities to generate more revenue” with tenants, including a supermarket, pharmacy and gym. Luxury apartments are part of the plan, and Marriott has committed to a hotel scheduled to open in 2023.
“We’re in full swing,” Feigin said. “We have a hotel that is done in a third way. We are thinking about other principles. We are going to have people working there and more people living there.”
What’s in it for business partners?
Sanchez said the Bucks’ asking price for the naming rights could fall in line with the market, depending on the exposure package. Suggested deal terms should be at least 10 years, as he projected it would take half that time for backers to develop the rights.
Sánchez added that companies receive “multiple points of contact” because mini-cities attract more than just sports consumers, but “health and wellness [consumer] someone who loves entertainment,” he said.
Another selling point for the Bucks is how often they appear on national television. The Deer District appeared on Disney’s ABC network during the Finals. That exposure “equates to impression and value,” Feigin said, pointing to the more than 60,000 people who filled the Deer District to watch NBA games outside.
Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks celebrates during Game Six of the 2021 NBA Finals on July 20, 2021 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Copyright 2021 NBAE.
David Shermann | National Basketball Association | fake images
But the Bucks will have to keep winning for this asset to be attractive. In the NBA, winning dynasties attract the best businesses. It’s why the Warriors, back on their title-challenging ways, are poised to become the highest-rated franchise in the NBA, surpassing $700 million in revenue in 2022. The Bucks also have an asset that should help them sustain over the years: 27-year-old superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, a two-time regular-season MVP and last year’s Finals MVP.
“This is what a champion team and organization looks like,” Feigin said. “We’re up in the air about what our narrative is and what our results are.”
He said the Bucks have seen an increase in business inquiries from July 2021, a month after they won the championship, but did not discuss the details. The team added Motorola as its t-shirt patch partner after that company moved away from the brooklyn nets, who just got swept by the Celtics.
“You want winning to be your throttle a lot,” Feigin said. “These are the times to seize it.”
The Bucks play the Celtics on Sunday in game one of their best-of-7 series.