The Giannis Effect

The Giannis Effect:

Written By: Ricky Glowe

In 2013, the Milwaukee Bucks selected the lanky and mysterious kid from Greece, Giannis Antetokounmpo. His talent was raw and uncertain but he had no ceiling. Since then, he has developed into a superstar who has provided a needed spark for the City of Milwaukee and the Bucks team itself. The Bucks haven’t had a superstar talent for years, and the hype around the team couldn’t be higher. Since the 2013 selection, many dominoes have fallen that have been due to the rise of Giannis. The future of the Bucks franchise hasn’t been brighter, all due to “The Greek Freaks” rise to stardom, (with respect to Jabari and Khris).

Giannis has given Bucks fans something to be excited about, and in return, they have been gradually filling up more seats for home games. In the current season, Bucks fans have been more supportive than years past. The demand for Bucks tickets has increased, and the attendance totals tell the story. This season, the average Bucks game attendance in the BMO was at 15,828 people. This is an increase of 4.2% from last season, where the stadium was filled with about 15,166 people (ESPN). Giannis’ game is a positive externality for the franchise, as it creates more revenue and also increases the team's value overall.

Over the last couple of years, the Bucks have seen an gradual increase in their revenue. As can be seen in the graph above, at the end of the 2014-15 season, the Bucks generated $126 million dollars of revenue. And at the conclusion of the 2015-16 season they saw their revenue increase by $20 million dollars, putting it at $146 million dollars (Statistica). The same increase in revenue should be seen this season, as the Bucks have had a bigger demand for their products. All of this is due to Giannis, who is helping to widen the fanbase and bring in more consumers, who will spend some of their income on tickets, gear, stadium food, etc. The effect is in increase in revenue, which is  a great sign for the owners overall. Giannis has been putting more people into the seats and generating more profit (but more importantly W’s), for the Milwaukee Bucks franchise, which is huge for a small market team like them.

While Giannis has been putting people into some older seats, soon he will be putting people into some new ones in the arena that’s only being built a couple of meters away from the old one. This new billion dollar project figures to build a new home for the bucks while at the same developing an area around it that allows for more economic growth. This will create more jobs for the people of Milwaukee which will in turn lower the unemployment rate. The arena will also have an economic impact as well. Currently, the BMO Harris Bradley Center has an impact of $200 million dollars in the area, and generated $8.8 million tax dollars (Walker). The new and improved area would be expected to generate even more money, which would help to develop the local area even more.

Thanks to Giannis, Milwaukee will be in for a treat over the next couple of years. With the potential for an Championship in the near future, the bandwagoners better start hopping on early. It seems improbable that one player is able to impact a city like Giannis has in his mere 4 years in the league. Fortunately for Bucks fans and the city of Milwaukee, he will be here to stay for at least another 4, and hopefully much longer. His impact on and off the court cannot be dismissed. Hopefully in the next couple of years, we will see a team and city develop into something special, all because of the “Greek Freak”.

Works Cited

"Attendance." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

Kirchen, Rich. "Giannis Helps Boost Attendance." Bizjournals.com. Milwaukee Business Journal, 23 Jan. 2017. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

"Milwaukee Bucks on the Forbes NBA Team Valuations List." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, Feb. 2017. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

"Milwaukee Bucks Revenue 2001-2016 | Statistic." Statista. Statista, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

Wolf, Don. "MMAC Study Looks at Bradley Center's Economic Impact." IIS7. Journal Sentinel, 30 Mar. 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

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