OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The Milwaukee Bucks’ affiliate in the NBA Development League will be in Oshkosh.
The Bucks will own and operate the team in Oshkosh beginning with the 2017-18 season.
A group called Fox Valley Pro Basketball, led by Greg Pierce, is building a 3,500-seat arena for the team. The Oshkosh Common Council approved plans for the arena last month.
Season ticket information is available at foxvalleybasketball.com. The Bucks are also taking suggestions for the Oshkosh team’s nickname at the website.
For Oshkosh basketball lovers, Wednesday’s announcement from the Bucks is a dream come true.
Oshkosh dad Jeremy Normington tells WLUK….
“I grew up going to games. There’s just something magical about seeing these teams work together to play ball”
And a lot of people worked as a team to bring a new Bucks Developmental League club here. Oshkosh city leaders, local investors and Bucks leadership.
“It’s kind of our day, thanks to the Bucks!” exclaimed Mayor Steve Cummings.
Now that the decision’s been made, the hard work begins.
Plans for a privately funded, $15 million arena need to get off the ground. The 3,500 seat arena will be on South Main Street at the former Buckstaff Furniture site.
“We’ve got a tight deadline to get this building up or this team that we just announced today doesn’t have a place to play,” explained Greg Pierce the President of the Fox Valley Basketball organization.
Construction on the arena is scheduled to start in just 12 days and the first season is scheduled to start in November.
The Bucks have a 6 year lease with the arena.
And Mayor Cummings says the team’s presence will spur millions of dollars of investment in that area of town and along the water front.
“It’s almost like a boom town again. We were a boom town 100 and some years ago during the lumber industry and we’re a boom town again with all this development”
While the future is bright, the city is happy to relive part of its past. Two basketball teams called Oshkosh home decades ago.
