Situation
The NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks threatened to leave the city without public funding for a new arena. The Wisconsin Center District (representing the public entities and the ultimate owner of the new facility) needed an experienced sports facilities advisor to assist in creating a public-private partnership (P3) to develop, finance, own and operate a new $524 million arena.
Result
As lead counsel for the politically sensitive project, Husch Blackwell created the arrangement in which the principal parties equitably share the liability and benefits of the private-public venture. By the end of the negotiations, the Wisconsin Center District obtained annual rent of $1 million, escalating each year, and one of the strongest non-relocation agreements in professional sports.