On May 5th, Bucks Guard and big-time slam-dunker, Pat Connaughton joined CARW members virtually to talk about commercial real estate and of course Bucks Basketball. The event was sponsored by Innovative Signs. Big thanks to Chad Schultz for his vision for the event! As guests joined, the Mariachi Voces de America performed festive tunes for Cinco de Mayo.
Pat Connaughton took the ‘stage’ and was interviewed by Irgens’ Steve Palec. Pat is a true Milwaukee believer, appreciating the authenticity and collaborative nature of the people and business leaders here. He loves his team and the Bucks’ ownership. He’s passionate about what they are doing in Wisconsin and enthusiastic about the fans. Pat is part of Beach House LLC in Milwaukee, a development firm which currently has two projects in the works. He’s a believer in brick and mortar real estate and says that it represents ‘tangible assets that won’t disappear into thin air.’ When diversifying his career, he compares the basketball to commercial real estate because it takes hard work, flexibility and team work. He spoke many times of his father and mother and brought them into many of his answers in terms of them being his inspiration. His father was a contractor and developer in the Boston area, where Connaughton is from. Pat stays close with his Notre Dame colleagues where he played basketball and attended business school. While discussing his work with the City of Milwaukee, he was complimentary of the approval process, particularly with the very complicated historic perseveration planning. He compared it favorably, to the process of working on similar projects in Portland where he also had several projects (which he began when he played for the Portland Trail Blazers).
Speaking to the NBA and his basketball career, he credits his success to hard work, setting high goals, and never giving up. He believes that the NBA will be back this year – maybe not the season – but the playoffs – and likely without fans, at least that is what he was hearing at the time. When asked about how that would feel – he definitely said he prefers to have fans in the stands. Especially Milwaukee fans which bring so much energy and passion. One benefit of having no fans, however, is to possibly hear more of what the coaches and players are saying on the court.
The interview was lively and honest. Check out the audio here: May 5 Event with Pat