Bucks, Marquette, Admirals oppose strip club across from Bradley Center
In a three-way announcement no doubt born of the front
offices and not the locker rooms, the Milwaukee Bucks, Milwaukee Admirals and
Marquette Golden Eagles teamed up to ardently oppose plans to build a strip
club across the street from the downtown BMO Harris Bradley Center the three
share.
The organizations issued a joint letter, addressed to Milwaukee Mayor Tom
Barrett as well as the city council and other officials, which said they
"strongly object to the proposal to lease city-owned space located at 4th
and Highland to the operators of a gentleman's club."
Downtown Silk MKE LLC has applied for a license to allow Adult
Entertainment/Strippers/Erotic Dance on the ground floor of a city-owned building
-- which the teams call "one of two primary parking structures for our
events" -- that is directly across from the Bradley Center's main
entrances. Silk Exotic is offering $10,000 in monthly rent for 10 years but it
has been denied a tavern license multiple times.
The Bucks, Admirals and Golden Eagles were blunt and emphatic in their release,
saying "without a doubt" a gentleman's club at the proposed location
would "change the way our neighborhood is perceived and hurt our
business." The letter mentioned the Bradley Center's attraction as a family-friendly
destination and said customers "would be involuntarily subjected to having
to deal with a strip club's existence when they visit our home."
In the letter, Bucks Vice President of Business Administration Ron Walter,
Admirals President Jon Greenberg and Marquette Vice President and Athletic
Director Larry Williams said they are "deeply concerned" with the
proposal and asked the city to "do everything it can to … not erode the
strong sense of community and standing invitation we share with our fans."
