Naming Rights Partner Announced For Deer District Concert Venue

Landmark Credit Union Live rendering. Rendering from FPC Live.

Milwaukee’s newest concert venue has a name and an opening month.

FPC Live‘s Deer District venue will be called Landmark Credit Union Live. The first concert is expected to be held in February.

The naming rights agreement was announced Wednesday morning.

The 4,500-person venue is being developed by FPC Live, a partnership of Madison-based Frank Productions and national concert promoter Live Nation. It is expected to host national touring acts with primarily standing crowds.

The venue is being developed on a portion of the former Bradley Center site, immediately south of Fiserv Forum, addressed as 1051 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave.

Brookfield-based Landmark Credit Union has 35 branches in southeastern Wisconsin and reports more than $7 billion in assets.

“Landmark Credit Union Live will be a place where people gather together, connect and create lasting memories,” said Jina Amaro, Landmark’s senior vice president of marketing, in a statement. “We are excited to be the naming rights partner to this venue and to show our continued commitment and support to the communities we serve across Wisconsin. This is another opportunity to strengthen our engagement in a new, meaningful way for many years to come.”

“We’re building on Milwaukee’s musical legacy with a venue that cements the city as a must-play stop on the touring map,” said Joel Plant, CEO of FPC Live. “Landmark Credit Union Live will offer a modern, mid-sized setting tailored to today’s top acts. We look forward to welcoming fans next February and adding new energy to Deer District’s entertainment scene.”

The new naming rights agreement, along with a recent partnership with the Milwaukee County Zoo and a presenting sponsorship with the Milwaukee Admirals, is part of an effort to increase visibility of the financial institution. In 2022, the credit union also acquired the rights to use the well-known TYME automated teller machine brand.

Timothy Mackay was named the president and CEO of the credit union last week.

Landmark’s advertising presence in Milwaukee continues to grow, even though it has only two branches in the city: 2797 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. and 4000 S. 27th St.

The venue, last publicly described in 2024 as a $70 million project, went through several rounds of public review. It was first proposed as a two-venue complex in 2021 for a site in the Historic Third Ward in partnership with Summerfest-host Milwaukee World Festival, Inc., but then shifted to the Milwaukee Bucks‘ Deer District area later that year. It received design approval, despite objections, in late 2022, but cost increases forced it to be downsized to one larger venue in 2023, and a second design approval took place for an “inflation-adjusted” venue.

FPC officials have noted that the venue aims to host popular touring acts that aren’t large enough to sell out an arena but attract more attendees than many existing Milwaukee venues can accommodate. Opposition came primarily from individuals with ties to other concert promoters.

Without great fanfare, construction began in May 2024. The project then had to pause for an unusual reason: its proximity to Fiserv Forum required a halt during the 2024 Republican National Convention. A “going vertical” ceremony was held in October, and a year later the venue is nearing completion.

The structure is oriented to the north, with a large plaza connecting to the pedestrianized W. Highland Avenue and the plaza in front of Fiserv Forum. The building is being set back from N. Vel R. Phillips Avenue, with a 12,500-square-foot development site between it and the street.

The stage will be at the south end of the building. Building plans show two upper levels of seating with several hundred seats set far back from a large open floor.

To the south, NCG Hospitality is pursuing a seven-story, 156-room Moxy Hotel. NCG also owns a Moxy-branded hotel next to FPC’s The Sylvee venue in Madison. NCG intends to begin construction next year on the Milwaukee Moxy.

A one-block private street on the west side will restore N. 5th Street to the street grid. The privately owned and constructed street is intended for loading the venue. It has not existed since the Bradley Center’s construction in the 1980s. The western portion of the Bradley Center site, 520 W. State St., remains available for future development.

Terms of the naming rights agreement were not disclosed.

Renderings

May 2025 Photos

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2023 Renderings

2022 Venue Renderings

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