Due to this season’s on-court struggles, the Milwaukee Bucks have had to resort to some very creative tactics to put fans in the seats. From aggressively priced ticket plans to a renewed focus on scoreboard entertainment features, the team seems to be pulling out all the stops to make certain that people attend their remaining home games this year.
Only 11,016 people, according to the announced attendance, decided to take in Monday, Feb. 10’s game against the visiting Boston Celtics. That number represents the smallest amount of fans at one game since the Bucks began playing at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in 1988.
Even offering free tickets to kids wasn’t enough to boost attendance beyond the record low. This was one of the seven games throughout January and February that the Bucks decided to give kids age 14 and under a chance to come for no cost, calling it “Kids Cheer Free.”
The Ramirez family of South Milwaukee had three children at the game but did not take advantage of the Kids Cheer Free program because they didn’t need to. All of their tickets were free, a gift from another family who had purchased them earlier in the year but decided not to attend. Carmen Ramirez, father of the three children, said the family would be unlikely to attend another game this year, citing the lack of an exciting enough atmosphere. “My kids were bored,” Ramirez stated.
Boredom is an issue the team can only do so much about on the court right now. Off court entertainment during breaks in the game came from pre-taped scoreboard videos to activities like a baked bean eating contest. Game Day Live, a spoof of the “Saturday Night Live” cast intro theme, played on the scoreboard before the game. Nick Memmel, MATC Speech student and member of Sector 7, the Bucks’ dedicated fan cheering section, was critical of the video. “Game Day Live sucks. That’s gotta go,” Memmel said.
The losing ways of the Bucks, who have only won five home games in 25 tries after this contest, have created opportunities for fans that weren’t there a few years ago when the team was more competitive. Asked what brought him to the game, Max Kowalski of Milwaukee asked back, “Besides the cheap tickets?” A big basketball fan, Kowalski would prefer the team was winning but admitted the losing did benefit him personally. “I wouldn’t have been able to get tickets two years ago,” Kowalski mused.
The game was close in score in the early goings but Milwaukee lost 102-86 when Boston pulled away in the fourth quarter. A strong contingent of fans headed for the exits well before the final buzzer. Josh Holmes of Muskego appreciated the low cost of attending the game with his daughter after her cheerleading competition at the BMO Harris Bradley Center that day. “I liked that the tickets were only $10 but I’d rather the team was winning. Then we wouldn’t be leaving early,” Holmes shared.