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Milwaukee Bucks unveil replica MECCA floor for Thursday night game

Posted at 6:49 PM, Oct 23, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-24 10:19:19-04

It's been 30 years since the Bucks played at the UWM Panther Arena, but for one night, they'll go back in time. 

When the Bucks take the court against the Boston Celtics Thursday night, older generations may feel a bit more at home. The team will be playing on a replica of the famous MECCA flooring. 

"We couldn't have imagined coming into this building without some sort of version of this court here," Dustin Godsey, Chief Marketing Officer for the Milwaukee Bucks said. 

From 1977 to 1988, it really was the court that made Milwaukee famous. It was up there with the parquet floor at Boston Garden or New York's Madison Square Garden. 

"This was something that, throughout the years, really put the city on the map from a national standpoint," Godsey said. "When people turned on the TV and saw this court, it was instantly recognizable as Milwaukee. For us to bring that legacy back a little bit, it was a one of a kind at its time and has never been done again. To bring it back is exciting." 

It's truly a one-time special though. After Thursday night's game, in accordance with the original artist Robert Indiana, they will sand off the paint and repaint it. Then it will go to the team's G-League arena in Oshkosh. So you'll have to be there Thursday night to see it for a step back in time.

"It's very similar in those old school arenas and that small atmosphere," Godsey said. "Fans right on top of the court and getting involved in the game. Here we're at about 11,000 seats and we're 18,717 across the street. It's a tougher ticket to get and lower capacity but for us, it's about reconnecting with those fans and having that unique atmosphere."

Godsey says there are still some tickets available.