4. Bradley Center – Milwaukee

No one will ever call Wisconsin a basketball state, but that’s still no excuse for the atrocity that is the Bradley Center in downtown Milwaukee. The oldest arena in NBA screams “whatever the opposite of ‘showtime’ is.” The outside of the Bradley Center is innocuous enough, but the inside is truly appalling.
Concrete and steel abound in both the concourses and seating areas. There seems to be zero interest in creating any sort of feel in the arena. Its architecture is utilitarian in the worst sense. I’m not saying it has to look like a museum, but NBA arenas aren’t supposed to be reminiscent of college football stadiums once you’re inside. All I’m asking for is something in the way of character, here.
The most curious aspect of the Bradley Center’s design is that it doesn’t seem to be sunken in to the ground at all. You enter most arenas at a level that’s about two or three sections up from the court. But not in Milwaukee, you don’t. As best one could tell, the court is on street level, which means that immediately after entering, you have to hike UP to your seats, which a) sucks because walking up stairs is hard and b) sucks because you don’t seem to get that inspirational moment where you walk off the concourse and look out over the arena.
The county has flat-out rejected any possibility of a new arena, and has proven to be pretty stingy when it comes to any sort of large-scale renovation, so you can expect to see the home of the Milwaukee Bucks on this list for years to come.

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