MILWAUKEE — On Monday, the Milwaukee Bucks confirmed the team is set to submit a bid to host the NBA All-Star Game in 2025 or 2026.

It didn't take long for area businesses to rally in support.

"This is outside money from fans that comes into our economy — money that would not have been in this economy if this All-Star game wasn't here," said Dale Kooyenga, senior vice president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.

Kooyenga added that landing the NBA All-Star Game would be the latest marquee event to put the Cream City on the international stage.

"The Milwaukee brand name is a big deal," Kooyenga added. "When we have companies or try to recruit talent around the world, having that Milwaukee name out there is huge.

"In the grand scheme of things throughout the world, there are hundreds and hundreds of cities that are larger than Milwaukee in terms of population, [but] it's events like these when you talk about the Harley-Davidson event the NBA Finals, or you talk about the Republican or Democratic National Convention coming here, not only does that take new money into our state, but the whole PR of having Milwaukee out there in a positive light [drives] tourism, helps drive investment and gets people to say, 'Hey, maybe I want to check out Milwaukee and live there...'" he continued. 

Watch the full interview above.