The plan unveiled Monday would spend about $600 million in state and local cash on renovations to American Family Field over nearly 30 years, with the Milwaukee Brewers pledging $100 million.
It would need approval from the Republican-controlled Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, as well as their counterparts in Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee — where several elected officials oppose spending on local stadiums. This raises the possibility of further negotiations before a final agreement is reached.
At stake is whether the Brewers will remain in Milwaukee after the team’s lease on the publicly owned stadium expires at the end of 2030, said Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester.
The legislation amounts to “an opportunity for us to keep Major League Baseball in Wisconsin,” Vos said at a news conference.
If the team leaves, he said, the public will own an empty stadium — and state income tax revenue tied to the ballclub will disappear, said Rep. Robert Brooks, R-Saukville, who co-sponsored the legislation.
“It’s cheaper to keep them,” Brooks said at a news conference.
Governor Evers promises to review the proposal
Evers’ office released a statement criticizing Republicans for rejecting his stadium funding plan, while saying “it’s good to hear Republicans are serious about keeping Major League Baseball in Wisconsin.”
“Gov. Evers looks forward to reviewing the Republican proposal and continuing to talk about a plan that provides additional flexibility and minimizes harm to local partners while ensuring we keep this important economic engine and thousands of jobs in our state,” it said.
The proposal, introduced by Vos and other Republican lawmakers, calls for the club to extend its lease through the end of 2050 — with the business also signing a non-relocation agreement.
Under the lease, major capital improvements to the stadium, including renovations to keep it on par with the upgraded facilities used in at least 75% of all MLB stadiums, are largely the responsibility of the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District. This state-created district is the principal owner of American Family Field, which opened in 2001.
Updates under the Republican proposal include winterizing the field so it can be used for concerts and other off-season events, Brooks said.
The team generates approximately $20 million annually in state revenue and sales tax revenue, totaling more than $500 million from 2024 to 2050.
Evers in February proposed a $290 million payment in his 2023-25 state budget to help fund nearly $450 million in stadium renovations. That would be tied to public funds already set aside by the stadium district, as well as interest revenue.
In return, the Brewers’ lease would be extended through 2043.
Evers’ plan has met with opposition from the GOP
Evers’ proposal has run into legislative opposition, with Vos and other Republicans saying the plan should include money from Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle also said the Brewers should help pay for the renovations.
The Republican plan calls for the state to spend about $411 million through 2046. After an initial $60.8 million payment to the stadium district, those annual payments would be capped at $20 million under the legislation.
Another $50 million would be available through short-term state loans to the stadium district through 2045.
More:How does the Brewers public funding deal compare to other professional sports teams?
Most of the state money would come from income taxes on Brewers employees, including players, and guest players on the team. Those payments would go directly to the stadium district, said Sen. Dan Feyen, R-Fond du Lac, who co-authored the legislation.
Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee would pay a combined $7.5 million a year, for a total of about $200 million. The proposal calls for $5 million in annual county payments and $2.5 million in city payments.
“They benefit the most from having professional baseball in their community,” Feyen said. Meanwhile, state sales revenue generated by the Brewers benefits all Wisconsin communities, he said.
The Brewers, owned primarily by multimillionaire investor Mark Attanasio, would spend $100 million.
That $100 million compared to about $40 million the Brewers would have to provide in stadium lease payments and renovation funds through 2050 if the current lease were extended without changes, said Rick Schlesinger, the Brewers’ president of business operations.
The Brewers’ decision to spend that additional money was a result of confronting political reality as well as a desire to be a good partner to the community, Schlesinger said.
The spending plan amounts to the stadium district meeting its contractual obligations and is not a bailout, he said.
Passage of the proposal is urgent, said Vos, who is planning an October Assembly vote.
He and Brooks said the stadium district’s renovation fund, previously estimated at $70 million, is actually around $10 million to $15 million. That could lead to the stadium district defaulting on its lease obligations as early as 2024, Brooks said.
This fund was created from a 0.5% sales tax in Milwaukee’s five counties that ended in 2020.
The state has a $4 billion surplus. Milwaukee faces a budget challenge
Opponents of local spending say the state has a two-year budget of $99 billion, including a $4 billion surplus.
The county and city have 2023 budgets of $1.37 billion and $1.72 billion, respectively. They also face greater fiscal challenges, even as they generate excessive amounts of state and sales tax revenue, and as many foreign companies move their operations to Milwaukee.
Also, American Family Field and its parking lot, which could eventually host commercial development, are exempt from property taxes — the local government’s main source of revenue.
But every county and city has a sales tax that applies to Brewers tickets and other items sold at the ballpark.
“If the team leaves, they have a lot to lose,” Vos said. “I think it’s a good deal for everybody.”
In July, local officials approved a new city sales tax and a county sales tax increase. These actions were authorized under state legislation that also provides increased shared state revenue for the city and county.
The Republican proposal would tax city residents twice because they are also county residents, Mayor Cavalier Johnson said. He said the Brewers should be pushed to create commercial development next to the ballpark — which would generate property tax revenue if the site exemption were changed.
Johnson’s bottom line: He wants the Brewers to stay in Milwaukee. But American Family Field is owned by a state-created neighborhood, not a city.
“So I would prefer the number the city contributed to be zero, but I understand that’s probably unlikely given the supremacy or supremacy of state law over local laws,” he said.
County Executive David Crowley called the ball club an important community asset and said he wanted a bipartisan funding plan for the stadium.
“However, it is important to recognize that Milwaukee County will still face a significant fiscal deficit for the next several years,” Crowley said in a statement. “Any new proposal for the state of Wisconsin must recognize this reality.”
Opposition includes local officials and state legislators
But even if Johnson and Crowley support it, several members of the Common Council and County Board will oppose the plan.
In May, the county council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution against county funds for the stadium. And five members of the 15-member Common Council issued a statement in July opposing the city’s funding of the project.
But the legislation also allows for possible cuts in state shared revenue for the county and city to help fund stadium renovations, according to the Legislative Fiscal Office.
The legislation also may have trouble getting approval from the state Senate, where it can only lose five of the 22 Republican votes — assuming all 11 Senate Democrats oppose it, said Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee.
“There is a core of very fiscally conservative senators that I don’t see supporting a bailout,” said Carpenter, who opposes local stadium funding.
Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard, D-Madison, also characterized the plan as overly burdensome on Milwaukee taxpayers, saying “the Republican plan that was presented today is inadequate.”
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, indicated the bill could still undergo changes.
“There is still work to be done, but the framework of the proposal introduced today will hopefully garner the bipartisan support necessary to keep the Brewers in Milwaukee through 2050,” LeMahieu said in a statement.
Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, indicated her committee would not support the bill.
Neubauer said the Republican proposal “falls short of recognizing the regional benefit of American Family Field and places too much of a financial burden on the city and county of Milwaukee.”
“We remain willing to continue the talks and hope that a bilateral agreement can be reached,” she said.
Said Brooks, “We know we’re going to have to bring Democrats into this deal.”
American Family Field has supported 3,000 full- and part-time jobs in 2022, including Brewers employees and people working for concession operators and other ballpark vendors. The ballpark also averages about 1 million more fans per year compared to the team’s previous home, County Stadium.
But skeptics say there are many studies that claim these benefits are exaggerated — most of which go to the team’s owners, managers and players. Economists point out that the money spent on the stadium is discretionary income that is likely to be diverted to other activities if the stadium closes.
Attanasio has repeatedly said he wants the Brewers to stay in Milwaukee long-term.
While MLB team moves are rare, the Oakland Athletics reached an agreement in May to move from the publicly owned Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum to Las Vegas — where a $1.5 billion stadium would be built with $380 million in public funds. MLB owners they are to vote in November on whether to approve the move.
Both Brooks and Vos thanked the Brewers for the baseball club’s willingness to stay in Wisconsin.
“Baseball is a very, very competitive industry,” Brooks said. “We’re just thankful they’re here to stay.
Reporters Molly Beck, Alison Dirr, Jessie Opoien and Vanessa Swales contributed to this article.
Tom Daykin can be emailed at [email protected] and followed Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
