MILWAUKEE— The UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena is bringing some new food to the table this season.
The arena is rolling out new options for the fans as the Milwaukee Admirals, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers and the Milwaukee Wave get ready for their upcoming seasons.
The new menu includes a Jalapeno Popper Brat, a Smashville Sandwich, a Brisket Spud and a new dirty soda bar where fans can create their own drinks.
Coming off a record breaking attendance season, the Admirals are welcoming fans back with more food options, and an even better team to compete with.
“The thing that I really love here is that I actually believe that this building, of all the different sports facilities in town, actually has the best food,” said Jon Greenberg, President of the Milwaukee Admirals. “So when you come here, there’s a lot of different options. You need to walk around the whole building and check out all the different things that are here. It is really important because people are coming out for a full night of entertainment and we want to make sure they’re fed with food that they enjoy or drinks that they enjoy or desserts that they enjoy. It’s all part of the experience.”
The UWM Panthers men’s basketball team is also gearing up for their season. Head coach Bart Lundy says it’s extremely important for fans to have a great environment around them when the games are going on. That includes the food fans consume.
“We’re in the entertainment business, right? We want it to be entertaining on the court and when they have a break from the action, we want them to be able to come and get some good eats,” Coach Lundy said. ”They can always get, you know, it’s Wisconsin, so there’s always going to be some beverages available too. We want to provide them with the best experience we can. The arena and Center City District, they do a great job.”
Coach Lundy even has a few favorites he’s eyeing for the season.
“The Smashville sandwich. From what I understand, it’s two patties and then a chicken breast on top of that,” Coach Lundy said. “For the kids, I think one of the new things is we now have a drink called the Dirty Wave. From how they described it, it’s Coke. So we’re gonna coke up the kids, a lot of sugar in there. Ian’s pizza is back. The brats, the steak sandwiches, whatever you want, you can get it here. It’s a great experience.”
The Executive Chef of the Baird Center, Ryne Harwick, oversees the arena’s food program and says there’s plenty of thought that goes into creating new items for fans.
“We’re extremely proud of Wisconsin, so we want to utilize as much Wisconsin products,” Chef Harwick said. “So what you’re going to see here are Wisconsin sausages, Wisconsin Dairy. We really want our guests to come on in here and really feel at home with all of the Wisconsin fare that we’re going to show off here.”
There will also be new beer collaborations tied to the Admirals and Panthers seasons.
The new food and drinks were previewed Thursday as Panther Arena prepared for another busy fall.
The Milwaukee Admirals’ preseason home game is September 26, with the regular season home opener set for October 10. UW Milwaukee men’s basketball’s home opener is November 8. The Milwaukee Wave open their season at the Arena on December 19.
