Milwaukee Bucks eyeing La Crosse for D-League expansion

Multiple cities in state interested in team

The Milwaukee Bucks could possibly change things up a bit in the La Crosse Center renovation plans.

Thursday, the city council approved $45 million in spending for civic center upgrades, inside and out.

What wasn’t a factor in those plans was the recent news Center director Art Fahey heard that the Bucks are looking to add an NBA D-League team, and La Crosse is on their radar.

Fahey got an email about two weeks ago that La Crosse was part of a story that the Bucks might be interested in placing their D-League team in town. 

“That’s where the initial spark came from,” Fahey said.

So, Fahey is putting things in motion, filling out the appropriate paperwork the Bucks have asked, so each side can see what’s all on the table.

One selling point to the Bucks could be the history the Center has with the recently passed Flip Saunders, the former GM and coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Saunders led the La Crosse Catbirds to a pair of CBA championships at the Center.  Saunders passed away last October at the age of 60.

The city has talked about naming the La Crosse Center court after Saunders, which would certainly be looked at positively from the NBA.  

The Bucks, who were last in town for a preseason game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Oct. 18, 2012 (picture, right) are rumored to want a team for the 2017-18 season, so the timetable to get things in motion isn’t a long one.

Interestingly, Oshkosh, Wis., has been on this for over a year, apparently. A private firm has been working on building a 3,500-seat arena for around $4 million to lure a team there.

So, La Crosse seems to be a year behind schedule, but it’s hard to say, as news from other towns has only recently popped up as to being interested.

It’s also hard to say whether late notice is a good thing or a bad thing for La Crosse. Now that money is approved for the Center, that could be a lucrative selling point to the Bucks.

And, $4 million for a new arena in Oshkosh seems low, considering the Center is upgrading its facility for over 10 times that amount – though that’s a bit of an apples-to-oranges comparison.

But, had the renovation plans for the Center included trying to lure a professional basketball team to the city, perhaps they would have been different. Perhaps the Center would have received more money. The original upgrades were for over $70 million.

Regardless, now a pro teams is added to the mix.

“Well, it might be, it’s just that the D-League had not gotten to that point, and we weren’t even aware that they were even looking,” Fahey said. “This kind of just happened in concert with the renovation program.”

What La Crosse has that Oshkosh doesn’t is, of course, an arena. One that holds around 6,000. One that’s getting $45 million in upgrades. One that’s owned by the city, not a private firm, like Oshkosh’s plan (Whether that’s a selling point to the Bucks, who knows?).

The Center’s upgrades haven’t been set in stone, so, perhaps, the plans could be tweaked a little to lure a pro basketball team to the arena. 

“Some renovations, but that kind of comes in play with what we’re planning already,” Fahey said, adding things like shot clocks, scoreboard and locker rooms might need upgrades. “As a team, they’re being very very aggressive. So, we have to be able to say, ‘Here’s where we can go with this.’

“There are certain limits that we have to have to make it a good deal for the venue, as well.”

Heading into this season, only eight NBA teams will be without an NBA D-league affiliate. Chicago, Brooklyn and Charlotte just added teams recently. That leaves Atlanta, Denver, L.A. Clippers, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New Orleans, Portland and Washington without teams.

The last pro basketball team to play in La Crosse, at the Center, was the Bobcats of the CBA. Before that, it was Saunders’ Catbirds, who won a pair of titles. 

The Catbirds played in La Crosse from 1986-1993. A year later the Bobcats came and played until the CBA folded in 2001.