'We have to cut staff:' No Bucks, Admirals games 'going to impact everyone' in Deer District
MILWAUKEE -- With the NBA and AHL suspending their seasons indefinitely as a result of concerns over the coronavirus, officials with businesses in Milwaukee's Deer District surrounding Fiserv Forum said Thursday, March 12 no Milwaukee Bucks games and no Milwaukee Admirals games would mean a big blow for the service industry.
The Milwaukee Bucks were supposed to take on the Boston Celtics at Fiserv Forum Thursday night. Bucks officials said Thursday tickets held for any postponed games would be valid for rescheduled dates when announced.
Marty Petricca
Meanwhile, FOX6 News found a lot of anxiety in the Deer District.
"It's gonna impact us," said Marty Petricca with Major Goolsby's. "It's going to impact everyone down the block."
Feet from the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and Fiserv Forum, those at Major Goolsby's on Thursday prepared for fewer guests.
"We have to cut staff accordingly," said Petricca. "We don't want to have to do that, but if there are not going to be 17,000 fans at Fiserv watching the game, that's a lot of fans not coming in here to grab a burger or a beer."
James Bryce, Jr.
Meanwhile, at TicketKing, brokers like James Bryce, Jr. were busy fielding plenty of calls from customers looking to get a refund for their tickets.
"It's huge," said Bryce, Jr. "Make no mistake about it, for us, it's huge. It's a lot of money that we are going to lose."
With no immediate word on how long the suspensions could last, Petricca said at Major Goolsby's, they were taking things "one day at a time."
"Because if things are changing like they are, we will have to make adjustments," said Petricca.
Bucks President Peter Feigin said in a statement Thursday, "Decisions about the status of remaining 2020 regular season is currently being determined. We thank our fans for their patience during this time and will continue to closely consult with the NBA, and city and state health officials to provide you with updates.”
CLICK HERE to access a special page set up at Bucks.com regarding coronavirus for the latest updates.