Great crowd descends on Milwaukee's Deer District with the Bucks one victory away from NBA title for the first time in 50 years
Standing outside the Fiserv Forum in the big crowd growing by the second, Lue Lueck wore a green jacket in the style of the 1971 Milwaukee Bucks championship and dreamed that this would be a night to see another one.
"I came here because I think we will succeed, and I want to say I was here," said Lueck, 38, of Madison.
The Deer district in downtown Milwaukee has become a city festival center as the Bucks approach their first NBA title since 1971. It includes the Fiserv Forum, numerous cave venues and restaurants, and of course, a place where thousands of ticketless fans have gathered Giannis Antetokounmpo Root and his team on the playground.
City officials predicted that the crowd could hit 65,000 on Tuesday night, a number that would drop to 10,000 or those trapped in the "Jurassic Park" outside the Scotiabank Arena of Toronto when the Raptors headed for 2019.
The enthusiasm has shocked even the Bucks owners, who opened the $ 524 million stadium in 2018 and saw the plaza as the most popular venue for the next summer convention, when the Bucks entered the final round of the Eastern Conference.
"We were hoping people would come, but I don't think we ever thought of it that way," Bucks owner Marc Lasry told Milwaukee Business Journal earlier this month. It’s a special experience and it’s the most beautiful thing in the city. ”
The site also hosted yoga sessions, family movies, art shows, festivals and public viewing of major sporting events such as the 2019 Women's World Cup final. But Bucks games are the best when they live, said Carlos Anguiano, 30, of Milwaukee.
"Just being here, you can feel the energy right away," he said as bass-heavy music exploded in the air before the tipoff. "It's very different from sitting at home watching TV."
On Tuesday night, the spot was glass and a metal island in the middle of a sea of humanity - different, smaller and more dressedly in the green Bucks. It was so crowded that even screens of the king's size were hard to see in the crowd; you had to listen to cheers or sighs to find out what was happening in court.
The police seemed to remain entry in the Deer District during the game, but the great crowd built outside the fence, sometimes we get inside as the officers did not hit the gaps.
There is not a single place in Chicago, other than Wrigleyville (although the whole city seemed to be a watching party during the Cubs' 2016 World Series run). The American Center and Certified Level Center is surrounded by parking lots, and while the Historical Campus outside Soldier Field offers a wide range of collection areas, there are few valuable items.
Finn McCarthy, 22, of Elmhurst, said Chicago would be well served with an equal Deer District. The recent University of Wisconsin in Madison has successfully spent its nights at Mecca Sports Bar and Grill, a packed stadium away from the arena, and said it would like Chicago teams to offer public spaces that produce the same power.
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