The Deer District is gaining another marquee venue as the music hall originally planned for the Summerfest grounds will now land in downtown Milwaukee on the former Bradley Center site, the Bucks announced Monday.
The announcement comes 10 days after the original proposal was nixed and just three days after plans for a new sports and entertainment complex near the Marquette Interchange were unveiled.
The project will feature a larger hall with a 4,000-person capacity and a more intimate 800-person venue. It will be privately funded with an estimated cost of $50 million, according to promoter Frank Productions/FPC Live.
FPC Live, a Wisconsin-based concert company backed by Live Nation, originally sought the Milwaukee World Festival, Inc, the parent organization of Summerfest, as partners on a new multi-venue complex in the Historic Third Ward. But the project faced backlash from Third Ward residents and ultimately faltered.
FPC Live operates the The Sylvee, The Orpheum, High Noon Saloon and The Majestic Theater venues in Madison, plus the American Family Insurance Amphitheater and BMO Harris Pavilion at the Summerfest grounds.
Among the representatives present for the announcement Monday on the Deer District Plaza were Bucks President Peter Feigin, Bucks guard Pat Connaughton and Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
Construction on the new concert complex is expected to begin later this year.
