American Family Field funding, Senate mulls changes to bill
MADISON, Wis. - The American Family Field funding bill is not a home run in the Wisconsin Senate. The Assembly already passed the bill. The city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County, as well as Gov. Tony Evers, are also on board with it, but senators said there are not enough votes for it to pass that chamber.
"There have to be major changes, I feel, in order to get it passed in the state Senate," State. Sen. Tim Carpenter, who represents the area around the ballpark, told FOX6 News. "The biggest thing is the Brewers, in one form or the other, have to contribute more for the renovations of the ballpark."
Changes are needed for the bill to pass the chamber. Bill sponsor State Sen. Dan Feyen told FOX6 News the tweaks have not been finalized, but several options are being discussed.
During a hearing before the Wisconsin Senate Committee on Government Operations, Feyen and fellow sponsor State Rep. Robert Brooks laid out some of the ideas, including the possibility of a ticket tax, but only for non-Brewers events at the ballpark. Another idea being floated is to audit the stadium board, the governmental body which owns the majority of the ballpark. Another idea is giving a seat on that future board to the city and county.
The bill right now would require $546 million of tax money go toward ballpark repairs and improvements. In exchange, the Brewers would add $100 million of their own funding to the stadium, and extend their lease to 2050.
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"It will constitute one of the longest leases of a Major League Baseball team," said Rick Schlesinger, Brewers president of baseball operations.
The current lease runs through 2030 and requires the governmental body that owns the majority of the ballpark pay for capital improvements.
During the hearing, State Sen. Julian Bradley asked Schlesinger if the team had any plans to leave the city before the current lease expires, if the new funding isn't approved. The Brewers executive said the team would not breach its lease.
American Family Field, Milwaukee
The Wisconsin Assembly passed the funding bill last week by a bipartisan 69-27 vote. It would have the state pay $411 million, tapping into the income tax Major League Baseball brings the state. That money would also pay to keep American Family Field open year round.
The bill would also have the city of Milwaukee pay $67 million, with Milwaukee County also paying $67 million for improvements. The Milwaukee money would come from slashing the administrative fee the state charges to administer local sales taxes.
The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimates the state will bring in more money than what it will pay over the course of the 27-year lease. Still, a Milwaukee Works poll found 70% of the state would prefer the money be used for other priorities.
"This is an urgent matter," Schlesinger told senators.
The Brewers gave FOX6 an exclusive look at what outside analysts said would be more than $428 million in repairs and improvements over the next 20 years. That includes boilers and chillers, as well as electrical systems that are reaching their expected lifespans with some parts now obsolete.
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