Milwaukee Panthers mens basketball
Who occupied UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena after Dec 1997?
UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena The UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena ( originally the Milwaukee Arena and formerly MECCA Arena and U.S . Cellular Arena ) is an indoor arena located in Milwaukee , Wisconsin . The arena , which seats as many as 12,700 people and offers of floor space , is part of a larger downtown campus , that includes the Milwaukee Theatre and Wisconsin Center . The arena was part of the MECCA Complex from 1974 until the 1995 opening of the Midwest Express Center . History . The arena opened in 1950 and was one of the first to accommodate the needs of broadcast television . It was folded into MECCA ( The Milwaukee Exposition , Convention Center and Arena ) when the complex opened in 1974 . It is also known for its former , uniquely painted basketball court by Robert Indiana in 1978 , with large orange Ms taking up both half-courts representing Milwaukee . The Indiana floor was purchased by a fan in the early 2010s and is currently in storage at Guardian Fine Art Services , an art transportation and museum-quality storage facility in the Milwaukee . It was home to the Milwaukee Hawks ( 1951–55 ) and the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA ( 1968–1988 ) , and hosted the 1977 NBA All-Star Game before an audience of 10,938 . The venue was also home to Marquette Universitys mens basketball team along with the International Hockey Leagues Milwaukee Admirals . These teams all moved to the now-defunct BMO Harris Bradley Center upon the arenas opening in 1988 . On October 26 , 2017 , the Bucks returned to the arena for a regular season game against the Boston Celtics in honor of their 50th anniversary in the NBA . For this event , the Bucks , by agreement with Indiana , installed a newly built floor featuring a duplicate of his original MECCA court for that game only . After the game , the floor was sanded down to remove the replica of Indianas original work and moved to Menominee Nation Arena in Oshkosh , home to the Bucks NBA G League affiliate , the Wisconsin Herd ( although the team does not play on the floor used in the commemorative game ) . In 1994 , the Wisconsin Center District ( WCD ) , a state organization , was created in order to fund the Midwest Express Center , and , in 1995 the MECCA complex was folded into this , including the Arena ( the soon-to-be-extinct BMO Harris Bradley Center and the newly opened Fiserv Forum are owned by a separate authority ) . Following a major overhaul in 1998 , the arena is now home to the Milwaukee Wave of the Major Indoor Soccer League ( including the 2006 MISL All-Star game ) and is the Milwaukee venue for Disney on Ice . The WCD added the Wisconsin Athletic Walk of Fame alongside the U.S . Cellular Arena in 2001 . At the end of this public promenade is a Wisconsin Historical Marker noting the location where Christopher Sholes invented the first practical typewriter , featuring the QWERTY keyboard layout . As the MECCA , the building hosted first- and second-round games in the Mideast Regional of the 1984 NCAA tournament . The U.S . Cellular Arena also hosted all or part of every Horizon League mens basketball conference tournament from 2003 to 2011 . In 2008 and 2009 , it was home to the Milwaukee Bonecrushers of the Continental Indoor Football League . On August 7 , 2010 , the arena hosted an Arena Football League playoff game between the Milwaukee Mustangs and the Chicago Rush . The Iron played its 2010 regular season home games at the BMO Harris Bradley Center , but the ongoing installation of the new center court scoreboard in that venue forced the home playoff games to be played at the U.S . Cellular Arena , where the Milwaukee Mustangs would go on to win . It is also home to the Brewcity Bruisers roller derby league . Milwaukee Panthers connection and renaming . The arena has been the home of the Milwaukee Panthers mens basketball team at three different times—first from 1993 to 1998 , then from 2003 to 2012 , and since 2013 . The Panthers played their 2012–2013 home games at the 3,500-seat Klotsche Center on UWMs east side campus . The move generated complaints from some Panthers fans and attendance lagged as the team limped to its worst record since the 1990s . After Amanda Braun was named UWMs athletic director in March 2013 , she said she would re-examine the decision to move games from the U.S . Cellular Arena . In July 2013 , UWM officials reached a 5-year contract with the arena owner , Wisconsin Center District , that runs through the 2017–2018 season . U.S . Cellulars naming rights expired on May 31 , 2014 , and they did not renew their contract . On June 26 , 2014 , it was announced that the Arena would be renamed the UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena , as part of an agreement which would run at least through 2024 , with UWM having an option to extend it through 2029 . The deal additionally makes the arena officially the major site for UWM events such as graduation ceremonies , a role it had already taken for years before . In August 2015 , it was revealed that the Milwaukee Admirals were considering a return to UWM Panther Arena in the next few seasons . Their then-current home , BMO Harris Bradley Center , was eventually replaced by the new Fiserv Forum , and the Admirals had not expressed any interest of moving into the arena , and in fact , said they were actually against moving into it . Logically , the move could make sense for a few reasons : more open scheduling dates , the chance to actually share in arena operations rather than just being a tenant , and more marketing in the arena , which they are hardly able to do in Bradley Center . Moreover , Panther Arenas operators have said they would welcome the Admirals moving into the arena . On March 16 , 2016 , it was announced the Admirals signed a 10-year lease with a five-year mutual extension . Also included on the deal was $6.3 million for upgrades to the arena . On June 10 , 2017 , the Milwaukee Bucks announced , as part of celebrating the Bucks 50th season in the NBA , the team would play one regular season game during the 2017–18 season at the Arena . The game was against the Boston Celtics and took place on October 26 , 2017 . The Celtics beat the Bucks 96–89 . Seating capacity . The seating capacity for basketball has changed as follows : Other uses . Concerts . Since the 1960s , the Arena has held a number of concerts by high-profile performers . The Beatles headlined a performance in the Arena as part of their historic 1964 U.S . tour . Elvis Presley performed 2 back-to-back shows at the Arena on June 14 and 15 , 1972 . He would return again on June 28 , 1974 and again on April 27 , 1977 , with the latter occurring 4 months before his death on August 16 of that year . Folk-rock icon Bob Dylan also played a two-night stand there in mid-October as part of his Fall 1981 tour . The Grateful Dead performed there during their spring tour on April 19 , 1989 . Professional wrestling . The arena has also hosted professional wrestling events , including WCWs SuperBrawl ( 1992 ) , Clash of the Champions XXXIV ( 1997 ) and Mayhem ( 2000 ) . It also hosted the World Wrestling Federations King of the Ring ( 1996 ) , and Over the Edge ( 1998 ) . It was at the aforementioned King of the Ring card where Stone Cold Steve Austin first uttered his now-famous Austin 3:16 catchphrase . It was scheduled to host the April 1 , 2020 edition of All Elite Wrestling Dynamite before coronavirus-related public assembly concerns postponed the circuits Milwaukee show to October 28 .