The Bradley Center was a multi-purpose arena in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that served as the home of the Milwaukee Bucks and Marquette Golden Eagles men’s basketball from 1988 until 2018. Formally known as the BMO Harris Bradley Center after a later naming-rights deal, the arena was funded by a $91 million gift from Jane and Lloyd Pettit in memory of Jane’s father, Harry Lynde Bradley, co-founder of the Allen-Bradley company. It opened on October 1, 1988, with an exhibition hockey game between the Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers.
Over its 30-year run, the Bradley Center hosted more than 5,000 sporting events, concerts, and charitable gatherings, welcoming tens of millions of visitors. Beyond the Bucks and Marquette basketball, the building was home to the Milwaukee Admirals hockey club, the Milwaukee Wave indoor soccer team, and the Milwaukee Mustangs arena football team. The Bucks played their final game there in 2018 before moving next door to the newly built Fiserv Forum, after which the Bradley Center was demolished between January and May 2019.
- Milwaukee Bucks played here 1988–2018. See every Bucks arena →
Stats at a Glance
- Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (NBA), Marquette Golden Eagles (NCAA)
- Location: Downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Opened: October 1, 1988
- Closed/Demolished: Closed July 2018; demolished January–May 2019
- Capacity (basketball): about 18,717
- Capacity (hockey): about 17,845
- Notable fact: Funded entirely by a single family’s $91 million philanthropic gift
The Ride Experience
Fans who passed through the Bradley Center’s doors experienced a classic late-1980s multi-purpose arena, with a seating bowl that brought basketball crowds close to the action during Bucks and Marquette games. The building’s steel-truss roof and brick exterior made it a recognizable fixture of downtown Milwaukee’s skyline for three decades, while its versatile floor configuration let it pivot quickly between NBA basketball, AHL hockey, indoor soccer, and arena football.
Concertgoers knew the arena for its larger capacity of around 20,000, which let it host major touring acts alongside its roster of resident sports teams. That dual identity as both a sports venue and entertainment hall made it one of the busiest buildings of its kind in the Midwest during its active years.
A Milwaukee Landmark’s Final Years
By the mid-2010s, the Bradley Center was widely seen as outdated compared to newer NBA arenas, lacking the premium seating and amenities that had become standard elsewhere in the league. Concerns that the Bucks could relocate without a new facility helped drive a public-private financing deal for a replacement arena just a block away.
The Bucks played their last Bradley Center game in April 2018, and the team moved into Fiserv Forum later that year. Demolition crews brought down the Bradley Center in early 2019, closing out a chapter of Milwaukee sports history that began with Jane and Lloyd Pettit’s landmark gift in the 1980s.
Explore more: Explore more historic stadiums and arenas.
USB-charged warmers for cold night games — no disposable packets.
Keeps chili hot from the tailgate to the fourth quarter.
Team-color face paint in a twist-up stick — no brushes, no mess in the car.
Bradley Center FAQs
Why was the Bradley Center demolished?
It was replaced by Fiserv Forum, a modern arena built nearby to keep the Milwaukee Bucks in the city long-term, and the aging Bradley Center was torn down between January and May 2019 after the Bucks relocated.
Who paid for the Bradley Center?
The arena was built with a roughly $91 million gift from Jane and Lloyd Pettit, making it one of the few major U.S. arenas funded entirely by a single family’s philanthropy.
What teams played at the Bradley Center?
It was home to the Milwaukee Bucks (NBA), Marquette Golden Eagles basketball, the Milwaukee Admirals (hockey), the Milwaukee Wave (soccer), and the Milwaukee Mustangs (arena football) at various points between 1988 and 2018.
Get More from Bradley Center
Log the coasters, stadiums, and venues you’ve experienced, rate Bradley Center, and see what your friends thought. Get the ThrillZing app.
Photo: Royalbroil / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.