The Blackhawks will play their final 2024 preseason "home" game in Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum, where Donald Trump will be officially named the Republican U.S. Presidential nominee.
The Blackhawks will play their final 2024 preseason "home" game in Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum, where Donald Trump will be officially named the Republican U.S. Presidential nominee.
The Chicago Blackhawks will head north to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a “Home Away From Home” preseason game at Fiserv Forum against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. Tickets will go on sale Friday, July 12 at 10 a.m.
The Fiserv Forum will host the Republican National Convention July 15-18 and Donald Trump is expected to be named the party's Presidential nominee there. The arena opened in 2018 and is the home of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Marquette University's competitive Big East men's team.
The Fiserv Forum seats 17,385 for basketball and was designed with sightlines for that sport in mind. The arena accommodates 15,178 for hockey and some seats have restricted views.
Prior to the game against St. Louis, the Fiserv Forum's entertainment plaza and Deer District will host Blackhawks celebrity appearances, live music and photo opportunities.
The Blackhawks played the Minnesota Wild at Fiserv Forum in a preseason game 2022, ending a 20-year hiatus from Wisconsin. The team had not skated in Milwaukee since Dec. 1, 1992 when it lost 6-3 to the Los Angeles Kings in a regular-season game at the now-demolished Bradley Center.
"Our players, staff and fans had such an incredible experience at Fiserv Forum two years ago, and we’re really excited to bring Blackhawks gameday back to Milwaukee this upcoming preseason," said Jaime Faulkner, president of business operations for the Blackhawks in a news release. "This is a great opportunity for all of our fans in northern Illinois and Wisconsin to be a part of Blackhawks hockey."
The game against the Blues on Oct. 5 will be the third of three preseason "home" games for Chicago. The other two — versus Detroit on Sept. 25 and Minnesota on Oct. 4 — will take place at the United Center.
Milwaukee Once Considered For NHL
Milwaukee was once considered as a site for an NHL team, especially after the Bradley Center was opened in 1988. That arena was built with $90 million donated by heiress and philanthropist Jane Bradley Pettit and her husband Lloyd Pettit, the longtime and iconic Blackhawks radio play-by-play voice.
The Bradley Center had superb sightlines and configuration for hockey, much like the Canada Life Center in Winnipeg. Its first event was a preseason game between the Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 1, 1988.
The Pettits already owned the minor-league Milwaukee Admirals, and that IHL — then AHL — team played its home games at the Bradley Center for years. However, plans for an NHL expansion team for Milwaukee never materialized, despite the Pettits' wealth and passion for hockey.
The Admirals, the Nashville Predator's AHL affiliate, now play at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. It's a refurbished, 8,900-seat version of the old Milwaukee Arena, where the Bucks and Marquette once played.