Bucks president: Team could move to Vegas or Seattle if arena construction doesn't start soon

Milwaukee Bucks president Peter Feigin told a group of Wisconsin politicians Monday that time is of the essence in approving $250 million in state funding for a new arena.

The funding was proposed by Gov. Scott Walker but dropped from the state budget last week. The arena-funding plan may be still approved as a stand-alone bill, but it's not without its critics.

"The window is closing," Feigin told the state's finance committee, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal. "We can't wait months, even weeks to start the public process."

Feigin then suggested the team could be moved to Las Vegas or Seattle.

The Bucks' 2014 sale to hedge fund executives Wes Edens, Marc Lasry, and Jamie Dinan stipulated that if a new arena wasn't completed by 2017, the NBA would have the option to buy back the team, and would then likely move it to another city.

Given that stadiums and arenas generally take two years to fully construct, the Bucks are adamant that a decision needs to be made soon. The team's lease at the 27-year-old BMO Harris Bradley Center also ends in 2017.

Commissioner Adam Silver has said it's crucial that Milwaukee, one of the smallest markets in the NBA, builds a new facility.

"This is about building a winner and building a brand and a product," Feigin said Monday. "It is similar to what the (Milwaukee) Brewers and (Green Bay) Packers have done," he said, referring to previous public funding of Wisconsin sports facilities for Miller Park and renovations to Lambeau Field.