The Milwaukee Bucks have reportedly pitched the naming rights to the new arena to manufacturer Foxconn, which announced this week that it is bringing a massive manufacturing plant to SE Wisconsin.
Bucks President Peter Feigin told our partners at the Milwaukee Business Journal that conversations with the technology manufacturer have been going on for “about three or four weeks.”
During a tour of the new arena Friday, Feigin says Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou took a tour of the facility and was impressed.
"Foxconn has been on the site," Feigin said. "Terry Gou is one of the most positive energetic people in the world. Every time we went to a new space, he was more enthralled with the construction. He's a real study to detail. He was very engaged. We had a great time with him."
Feigin wouldn't elaborate on how Foxconn could be involved, but the company's prestige in technology could play a part.
"Chairman Gou, we're on the exact same page," Feigin said. "In a perfect world, they want to use a professional sports entertainment arena as a platform for 8k technology and we're exploring it with them as an opportunity. They're in future technology. How do we have state of the art technology to open up and then have, really a pathway for the next 10 years to be at the cutting edge of technology?"
As far as discussions, Feigin just says they're ongoing but he knows however they could be involved, it would be huge for the arena.
"We, with open arms, welcome partnership and certainly, being with such a great technology partner, a partner that's made a huge effort to invest in the state of Wisconsin, in that kind of way, it would be great," Feigin said.
The MBJ reports that the Bucks are looking for a sponsor willing to pay up to $6 million per year to have its name on the new arena.
The new arena is one of the Milwaukee-area businesses that economic development officials showed Foxconn as they were making their decision whether to build the $10 billion plant to Wisconsin.
Feigin was at the White House for President Donald Trump and Gov. Scott Walker’s announcement Wednesday, and was also a VIP at the ceremony Thursday at the Milwaukee Art Museum welcoming the Taiwanese company to Wisconsin.
