The Milwaukee Admirals have been in town longer that the Brewers have. It may be only by a few months, but their history is a long one indeed, especially considering that minor league sports franchises come and go in the blink of an eye nowadays.

First known as the Milwaukee Wings in 1970, they soon would change their name to the Admirals and have been an institution ever since. After playing as an independent team for their first four seasons, they joined the United States Hockey League (USHL) in 1973.

From 1977-2001 they skated in the International Hockey League (IHL) and joined the American Hockey League (AHL) after the IHL folded.

One of the reasons the Admirals were invited to join the AHL was because of the longtime steady ownership of Jane and Lloyd Pettit since 1976. Although the couple divorced in 1998, Mrs. Pettit continued to own the Admirals franchise until her death, ironically during the team's first season in the AHL.

For four years the Admirals were run by Mrs. Pettit's trust, but that was hardly a permanent working solution. A new owner was needed to bring in fresh capital and almost just as important, fresh ideas.

In stepped Harris Turer, the grandson of Master Lock founder Harry Soref. Turer, the father to a youth hockey player and affirmed Admirals fan, stepped up and bought the team in 2005.

In 2006 he sat down with OnMilwaukee.com for his first "Milwaukee Talks" feature. Six years later, we caught up with him again at the Admirals downtown offices.

OnMilwaukee.com: What have you learned about owning a professional sports organization since the last time we sat down with you in 2006?

Harris Turer: You learn along the way. When I bought the team, people said 'what's your business plan?' Well, we have a framework; a mission statement of what we want to be and that was a true, minor league team. I thought we had to do that because we are in a major league town. I never wanted to pass the Admirals off as NHL hockey. We're not, and I don't want to fool anybody. But, what that also allowed us to do is to create that minor league fun, that minor league atmosphere that I think people enjoy and appreciate. That allows you to create your niche. Because you are going against people's attention when it comes to the Packers and the Bucks and the Brewers and major college sports out in Madison or Marquette or UWM. There are so many things that can grab your attention. So we created that part.

OMC: So what has worked and what hasn't?

HT: One of the things we think we have learned is, not really based in scientific data but something we found out, is we don't give out free tickets. I used to get told all the time that if we give away free tickets people will have a good time and want to come again. So in the beginning we did quite a bit of that. But all I learned from that is that people then won't come unless they've been given a free ticket. It really became a matter of 'unless I'm getting a free ticket than I'm not interested.' So what we have done is created a valuable product that people are willing to pay for at a family-friendly price. When you go out and spend your discretionary income, what are you going to spend it on? We think we have created something that has some value and is affordable for our fans.

OMC: Is this a full-time job for you?

HT: Yes. I'm here every day, five days a week in terms of being in the office. I'm at every game I can possibly be at, unless I'm at one of my kids' hockey games or something like that. But yes, I'm here 9-to-5 every day.

OMC: You are also a part-owner of the Brewers. It's been quite a few months for the team, hasn't it?

HT: First of all, the run that the team made was so special. Everywhere you went the town was so excited about it. Obviously we ran into a bit of a buzz saw in the Cardinals. The pitching disappointed a lot of people because all of a sudden the starting pitching that got you there, for the most part, started to fall apart a little bit, at least half of that four-man rotation anyway. What's going on with the makeup of the team is that Doug (Melvin) is clearly doing the right thing. He had to get a bat. We talked about it at a meeting back in November that we have to get a bat behind Braunie. We're probably losing Prince (Fielder) there and we can't put a rookie there or no one is going to pitch to him. So then he went out and got (Aramis) Ramirez.

OMC: What was your reaction to the news about Ryan Braun's failed drug test?

HT: Obviously none of us knows the full story yet. The one thing that seems clear to me is that he and his people are adamant that he's done nothing wrong. What caused the positive outcome we don't know? I really think that if Ryan had really done something wrong I don't think he would be so adamant the other way. And I know that you point to other players like (Roger) Clemens or (Rafael) Palmeiro, or any of those other players that went in front of Congress and said they didn't do anything, but I don't think Ryan is that kind of guy. He's a really smart guy, and there is something here that we'll all find out about it because he seems really anxious to tell everybody about it.

OMC: How important has the relationship been between the Brewers and Admirals franchises been?

HT: Yeah, there is a real synergy there. When we first bought the team, (Admirals president) Jon Greenberg approached the Brewers about the sponsor patch that all teams have on their uniforms. At the time, the Brewers were starting to change a lot of things, including how they market themselves on a year-round basis. And of course because we play during their off-season, the Brewers could market themselves through us the rest of the year. I've been thrilled with the relationship. They've been incredible partners, from Rick Schlesinger on down. Everyone at the Brewers has been outstanding supporters of ours. Every year the deal seems to get a little bit better. We tweak a few things here and there, but it's been great. That's the way things should be in our town. We're a small town, and we should be communicating as much information to each other's fans as possible.

OMC: When you bought the team in 2005 after Mrs. Pettit passed away, did you do so as more of a philanthropic venture or was your mindset to make the Admirals a profitable business?

HT: It's funny. I hadn't even thought about it until someone asked me if I would be interested in owning the team. I said I had never thought about it, but I knew the person who was running the organization and I called him and I said I might be interested. SO I really started to think about it. I was already an owner of the Brewers, and I always had some ideas of how I would run things if I was in charge.

But I didn't have a say, I just had an investment in the team, which was fine, that was totally understandable. But you still have those ideas. So when we finally decided to buy the team and really make it a minor league team all of these ideas started flowing through my head. I thought 'boy, this would be a lot of fun!' One of the great things is that you can see if any of these ideas you have would actually work.

The other thing was my son was playing youth hockey at the time and he used to drag me to Admirals games. And I thought that he would get such a kick from being able to meet the players and some of the little things that would go along with owning the team.

OMC: Did you know that you were saving the team from extinction at the time?

HT: No, I guess I didn't realize at first that the team was in such dire circumstances. I mean, I knew that the guy that was running the organization on behalf of Jane Pettit's estate was looking to unload, but I didn't necessarily know exactly where they were at. Were they going to dissolve the team; would they move them out of town? I did start to understand as I got into it after I purchased the team that this was a bare-bones operation.

There were people doing essentially 2-3 jobs. So one of the first things we did was make sure people had defined jobs rather than having 3-4 things to do at one time. I'm thrilled that we have been able to keep the team here in Milwaukee. I'd love to be able to say I made all of this money on my own, but I didn't. But I think that when you come into a situation where you inherit money, I think there is a great deal of responsibility that goes along with it. The Admirals have been a part of the community for so long, since 1970, and I intend for it to still be in the community for a long, long time.

OMC: Your grandfather, the late Harry Soref, was the founder of Master Lock in the 1920s. It is no secret that his company, which was sold off in the early 1970s is the source of the wealth needed to own a professional sports team. How much of your grandfather is in you?

HT: That's a good question. I don't know. He died before I was born, but the one thing I did learn was how in order to build his business, the employees were number one. Take care of your employees and they will take care of you. I don't want it to sound like I am patting myself on the back, but I think that's an important thing that we do here.

I make sure we have good, quality people that know I care about them and respect them. I know they work very hard on behalf of the Admirals, which is essential to me. Ultimately, I think that any successful organization and business is based on that relationship.

OMC: Have you ever had the urge to shoot a gun through a Master Lock (as depicted in the famous television commercials in the 1970s and 1980s)?

HT: Ha! No. I'd probably miss! (laughs).

OMC: How important is it for you and the players to be out in the community?

HT: When you own a sports team, you are in a very unique position in the community. You are able to affect a lot of people and a lot of kids, and to bring dollars into community organizations. We have a game every year for charity where all of the upper bowl seats are $3 and we give $2 of every ticket sold in the Bradley Center to a selected charity. This year it is Children's Hospital. We've done it for them, and for the MACC Fund, and also for Make-A-Wish.

So we are in that unique position to be able to raise money for charity and do good things in the community. We've done teddy bear tosses, our players go to Children's Hospital to reach out to kids. I love that. I think it's really important to give back to the community. Sports are something that brings everybody together. When I was at the Brewers playoff games, there were 42,000 people all wanting the same thing. We are all divided over difference whether it's politics or religion or whatever. I respect everyone's differences, certainly. But sports have a way of bringing our entire community together.