'It's going to speak for itself': NBA Finals shines national spotlight on Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (CBS 58)-- All eyes will be on Milwaukee next week as the Bucks take on the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals.

"We're on a global platform," Bucks President Peter Feigin said. "The city of Milwaukee, the state of Wisconsin is going to be on the eyes of the world. It's very exciting."

The basketball organization said the fans will put Milwaukee on the map.

"The crowds we've seen both inside and out here in the Deer District... has really opened up the world to what Milwaukee is," Chief Marketing Officer Dustin Godsey said.

All eyes on Milwaukee for the next couple of weeks ? Tonight on @CBS58– what the national attention means for the @Bucks and @cityofmilwaukee. #NBAFinalspic.twitter.com/M5v4jqVKz1

— Gabriella Bachara (@GabbyBachara) July 4, 2021

Milwaukee is preparing to welcome tourists to a destination that often receives bad press.

"People are just going to see it, they're going to experience it in a way they haven't before and it's going to speak for itself," Godsey said.

National networks will broadcast some of Milwaukee's most defining assets, showing people who have never been to the city what they're missing.

"We know they are coming in town, too. So, they're not just shining their cameras on us. They're actually here," Visit Milwaukee Communications Director Claire Koenig said.

Koenig said it's hard to quantify what this national spotlight means for the city, but she added that each home playoff game brought in about $3 million. 

"We had, I think it was eight home games throughout the playoffs. So, that's about $24 million, that otherwise wouldn't have happened if they didn't make the playoffs," Koenig said.

That number is only expected to grow during the finals.

"Every time that they show Fiserv Forum and the Deer District looking like the coolest place in the country, that does great things for Milwaukee," Koenig said.

About 25,000 fans cheered on the Bucks in the Deer District during game six on Saturday night. The city is only expecting more people to show up for the finals. 

The Bucks and Fiserv Forum are still planning for what next week will look like for fans who want to go the Bucks watch party.