[6] Following the opening of the new Fiserv Forum in late August 2018, the Bradley Center was demolished to make way for future development.

Funds to build the Center were donated as a gift to the State of Wisconsin by broadcaster/Admirals owner Lloyd Pettit and his wife, Jane Bradley Pettit, in memory of Jane's late father, Harry Lynde Bradley of the Allen-Bradley company; the latter was noted upon the arena's exterior with subtle decorative outlines, hinting of its trademark octagonal logo.

Despite being one of the premier NBA facilities when completed in 1988, it was one of the oldest active NBA arenas by the end of the Bucks' tenancy in 2018, only behind Madison Square Garden in New York City, and Oakland Arena, although both had been extensively renovated during the Bradley Center's lifetime, and the latter was replaced by the Chase Center in San Francisco in 2019.

[9] During the summer of 2010, the arena's longtime Sony Jumbotron scoreboard was replaced with a new 3.5-million-pixel LED unit manufactured by TS Sports and Lighthouse Technologies, and was put into service in October 2010 at the start of the Admirals season.

The arena's final public event was a Bon Jovi concert on April 29, 2018, while the arena's final overall event was the annual meeting of Northwestern Mutual Life's agents and beneficiaries from July 20 through July 24, 2018, concluding with a private concert by the Zac Brown Band.

On April 16, 2014, Bucks' owner Herb Kohl announced an agreement to sell the franchise to New York City hedge-fund investors Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens.

Demolition contractors used explosives to cut the steel structure, but not enough to trigger an implosion of the entire arena due to the nearby presences of Turner Hall and the Journal Sentinel building.

Bucks officials state that redevelopment of the Bradley Center site would not start until after the 2020 Democratic National Convention takes place.

The Bradley Center was a host site for second and third-round games in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 1992, 1996, 1999, 2004, 2010, 2014, 2017.

The Bradley Center was host to World Wrestling Entertainment events since February 1989 (then WWF) when it hosted The Main Event II, where the Mega Powers of Macho Man Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan disbanded, setting up a match between the two stars at WrestleMania V.[24] Shortly thereafter, WWE's ratings fell and they began using the smaller MECCA for shows.

In the early 2000s, WWE returned to the Bradley Center for pay-per-views No Way Out (2002), which saw the debut of the NWO, Taboo Tuesday (2004), Elimination Chamber (2012), and Fastlane (2017).