Dive Brief:

• The Milwaukee Bucks announced that Mortenson Construction has won the construction management contract for its new $500 million, 714,000-square-foot arena, the Milwaukee Business Journal reported.
• Mortenson has an established presence in Milwaukee and is also the second largest builder of sports venues in the U.S., with 160 such projects under its belt, according to the Business Journal. The company, Bucks officials said, also has a track record of meeting project workforce development and diversity goals, which are requirements for the arena.
• The Bucks are still in negotiations with eventual arena-owner the Wisconsin Center District, which also governs the nearby Milwaukee Theatre and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers Arena, and must obtain design approval from the city. Bucks officials expect construction to begin in July and be completed in the fall of 2018.

Dive Insight:

The project will be part of a public–private partnership between the Bucks and local and state government, and will be the centerpiece of a new downtown sports and entertainment district built on what is currently 30 acres of vacant land. The area will also see construction of new residential and office space.

Last August, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, in response to the Bucks threat to leave Milwaukee, signed legislation authorizing a $250 million spend on the new arena, a dollar-for-dollar match to the team’s outlay. Walker faced considerable political pressure not to sign the bill amidst arguments that the state should not spend taxpayer dollars to support the team.

The Milwaukee Common Council also approved its $47 million contribution to the project after the Bucks agreed to a 40% city-resident hiring requirement for the arena and ancillary facilities.

Mortenson is currently working on the $1.1 billion Minnesota Vikings stadium and was recently selected to build the $120 million Minnesota United soccer stadium, as well as the $1 billion Golden State Warriors arena with Clark Construction. The contractor has also built the Target Center for the Minnesota Timberwolves NBA team and Target Field for the Minnesota Twins MLB team.