UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, one of the city’s oldest sports complexes, will play a critical role in the Republican National Convention this month.

The arena is one of three main venues for the four-day event, alongside Fiserv Forum and Baird Center. All three are part of convention security’s “hard zone,” meaning the area will be controlled by the Secret Service and require credentials to enter.

But Panther Arena is no stranger to major events, including presidential speeches. Here’s everything you need to know about the venue ahead of the RNC.

Where is the Panther Arena?

The arena is in downtown Milwaukee, at 400 W. Kilbourn Ave.

Has Panther Arena hosted political events before?

Though former president Donald Trump will likely deliver his convention speech from Fiserv Forum, the Republican presidential candidate has actually spoken at Panther Arena previously.

In January 2020, Trump hosted a campaign rally at the arena as part of his re-election bid. His remarks at the time largely focused on national security.

On top of thousands attending the rally, Trump’s speech also drew a few hundred anti-Trump protestors outside the venue. Ahead of the event, Trump’s visit sparked campus controversy at UWM, given the arena bears the university’s name. The school’s chancellor eventually issued a statement clarifying that UWM neither owns nor controls booking decisions at the Panther Arena, beyond its own events.

How old is Panther Arena?

Panther Arena is Milwaukee’s original sports and entertainment complex, according to the arena website. 

Built in 1950, it was initially named Milwaukee Arena. It became the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena in 1974 and the U.S. Cellular Arena in 2000. The arena got its current name in 2014, when UW-Milwaukee bought the naming rights for the venue.

Alongside 8,910 permanent seats, the arena has a total capacity of 12,700 people — about two thirds of the size of Fiserv Forum, which has a total of 17,500.

Which teams play at Panther Arena?

The Panther arena is currently home to basketball, hockey and soccer teams: the Panthers, the UWM men’s basketball team; the Milwaukee Admirals, the city’s National Hockey League team; and the Milwaukee Wave, the Major Arena Soccer League team.

But the arena’s history in professional sports goes far beyond these three teams, according to its website. It has also hosted international sporting contests, including a 1998 Davis Cup semifinals match, part of the international men’s tennis tournament, and a Golden Gloves Boxing match versus Russia in 1996.

Closer to home, it hosted the U.S. National Gymnastics Championships in 2003.

What are concerts like at Panther Arena?

According to its website, the arena was “born in the era of rock ‘n’ roll” — and celebrated it hard.

The venue has hosted stars including Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen, Green Day, the Beastie Boys and Run DMC, among others. Iconic singers, like Frank Sinatra and Neil Diamond, have also played the venue. 

Panther Arena still regularly hosts live music events, from the Milwaukee Public Schools music program’s annual festival to R&B artists KEM and Ledisi earlier this year.

Minneapolis is one of the final locations bidding to host the Sundance Film Fest in 2027.

Sundance organizers announced in April they were exploring a new home for the festival, moving it away from its 40-year home in Park City, Utah. Within days, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously moved to submit a bid. The city submitted its proposal on June 21.

“With our thriving arts and entertainment scene, diverse cultural heritage, and passionate film community, Minneapolis is the ideal backdrop for the Sundance Film Festival,” said Mayor Jacob Frey.

The city has established a cross-sector host committee to support the bid and potential festival, made up of leaders like Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter — alongside others from government, philanthropy, arts and culture, economic development and media. Together, the committee has pledged to offer upward of $2 million in annual support to sustain and expand the festival.

“Everybody wants to be a part of this,” said Andrew Peterson, Film North executive director.

Government and philanthropic support are a key part of Minneapolis’ bid, alongside its winter infrastructure, theater district, and nation-leading arts and culture scene, organizers said.

Sundance established a two-part process for the search: an informational bid, then proposal. The final selection will likely come during the next festival, planned for Jan. 23-Feb. 2, according to entertainment website deadline.com.

Three new signs declaring key state slogans are now up on several Indiana state government center buildings in downtown Indianapolis.

The total cost was about $820,000. Not all was taxpayer money.

Back in 2016, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. added three signs with former Gov. Mike Pence’s “A State That Works” catchphrase to two buildings: the west side of the IEDC’s office at 1 North Capital and the north and south sides of the Indiana Government Center North building. The signs included a gear with the state’s shape inside it.

They cost about $300,000 at the time — or nearly $393,000 in today’s dollars, according to the U.S. Inflation Calculator.

Those three signs have been removed and new signs have been created and replaced by Indiana-based Signworks.

The first two have the new IEDC slogan: Indiana For the Bold. The letters are nine feet tall and span more than 120 feet across.

“The signage, which is internally illuminated to fit the new brand, will better reflect the state and its focus on the future and creating a better tomorrow for Hoosiers,” IEDC Spokeswoman Erin Sweitzer said. “These signs are also a unique opportunity to share our brand and the state’s many competitive advantages to not only Indianapolis businesses, residents and students, but also to the more than 30 million people who visit our capital city each year.”

“The signs are in prime downtown locations that are frequently shown in photo and video coverage of the city by media outlets and content creators, creating countless opportunities to share Indiana’s bold brand with potential businesses, innovators and talent around the world,” she added.

The total cost to remove the three existing “A State That Works” signs and install the two new “Indiana For the Bold” signs – was roughly $580,000. The money came from the IEDC’s existing Business Promotion and Innovation funding, which is used to promote business investment and encourage entrepreneurship and innovation.

The third signage location, on the north side of the Indiana Government Center North building, was replaced with branding from the Indiana Destination Development Corporation (IDDC). It features the “IN Indiana” slogan.

Elaine Bedel, secretary and CEO of the IDDC, said the cost of that sign was $240,848. It was funded by the Indiana Destination Development Foundation and not state taxpayer dollars. The expenditure was unanimously approved by foundation board members on Feb. 20.

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