The Milwaukee Bucks today announced the team has retained two local firms – Prism Technical Management and Marketing Services, LLC (“Prism Technical”) and Cross Management Services, Inc. (“Cross Management”) – to assist in meeting ambitious workforce development goals related to the construction of a new downtown arena and ancillary development.
Prism Technical and Cross Management will be charged with developing and managing workforce and supplier diversity initiatives, respectively, for the new Milwaukee Bucks arena and ancillary development. The two firms will collaborate on issues of community outreach and reporting public interest stories and project performance in relation to meeting community benefit goals established by the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County.
“Prism Technical and Cross Management will both be instrumental in helping us develop a strong workforce that has a lasting impact in the community,” Bucks President Peter Feigin said. “Our ambitious goal for this development is not just to build a world-class arena, but to help transform downtown Milwaukee and drive growth throughout the region. These two industry-leaders are uniquely qualified to help lead that charge and make sure the job growth this project generates benefits the communities that need it most.”
Carla Cross, Chief Executive Officer with Cross Management, and Lafayette Crump, Chief Operating Officer with Prism Technical, will lead the efforts of their respective firms during the development.
“Cross Management and Prism Technical have a history of utilizing our firms�� technical and historic synergies to achieve superior supplier and workforce diversity results on large scale, complex construction and development projects,” Cross said. “These are typically projects where diversity inclusion has the potential to create significant employment and job training. We recognize that projects like these also present unique opportunities to strengthen minority- and women-owned companies in Wisconsin.”
“We’re extremely excited about providing direction, oversight, forecasting and tracking tools to assist local and national contractors and training agencies focused on putting men and women in this community to work,” Crump added. “We know that the upcoming projects by themselves won’t resolve the stark disparity in income or unemployment that infect our region, but we’re certain they can serve as a launching pad for hundreds of serious and motivated new entrants into the workforce – at the very time the construction industry needs and can absorb the new talent – as older members retire or consider leaving the trades.”
Both Cross Management and Prism Technical have long histories of successfully engaging minority, women and disadvantaged individuals and businesses on major construction projects across the state, and serving as consultants for government entities, owners and contractors. The two firms count the following notable projects in their portfolios: Northwestern Mutual – Tower and Commons, The Moderne, The North End, Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee Public Schools Neighborhood Schools Initiative, Lambeau Field and Miller Park. Cross Management and Prism Technical have simultaneously worked on several of the aforementioned projects; however, the Milwaukee Bucks development marks the first time the two firms will work collaboratively for the same entity to achieve or surpass community participation goals.