Some officials, residents still worried about local contribution to Milwaukee Brewers stadium deal

Hours after the Milwaukee Brewers season came to an abrupt end, some residents and officials expressed concerns about the amount of local dollars that would go toward a plan to fund renovations at American Family Field.

The plan, announced by Republican state lawmakers in September, includes around $600 million in public funds to pay for renovations and maintenance at the stadium, which opened in 2001. It would also ensure the Brewers stay in Milwaukee until 2050.

Under the current proposal, around $200 million would come from Milwaukee County and the city of Milwaukee, while the Brewers would contribute around $100 million for the stadium improvements, which go to the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District. The district is charged with the oversight and monitoring of the operations and maintenance of American Family Field, including the trademark retractable roof and the stadium’s video board.

The majority of state funds would come from income taxes from Brewers players and employees, as well as from visiting players.

Each year, the city would contribute $2.5 million and the county would contribute $5 million. Both city and county officials have voiced strong opposition to spending local tax dollars on the deal as they’re facing future budget deficits in the coming years.

“A $5 million hole in the budget means Milwaukee County will have to again make tough budget cuts,” Milwaukee County Supervisor Peter Burgelis said during a public hearing on the proposal Thursday.

Milwaukee community activist Tiffany Stark has been a lifelong Brewers fan. But Thursday, she told state lawmakers she’d rather see the money for the ballpark go toward community resources, like mental health services or education.

“I hope there’s another way funding can come up … but at this point we don’t have the money,” Stark said.

State Rep. Robert Brooks, R-Saukville, said the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District needs more money. Some have expressed concerns that the Brewers could leave Milwaukee after its lease with the stadium expires in 2030 if no public or state funding for improvements come through.

Brooks reminded lawmakers and others that the state owns the stadium. But Rep. Marisabel Cabrera, D-Milwaukee, said she’s worried local leaders will be left holding the bag under the current proposal.

“I don’t want it to be another financial burden on the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County,” Cabrera said at the hearing.

Brooks did say he believes the local contribution for the deal will “more than likely change” to be less burdensome.

‘Never considered going anywhere else’

During a press conference Tuesday, Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio responded to reports that the team may consider moving elsewhere if a deal isn’t struck to fund the renovations.

“I’ve never considered going anywhere else,” Attanasio said.

He also shared the team’s leadership has had good “bipartisan receptivity” about the deal.

“I’m very excited that we can keep baseball in Milwaukee until 2050 if this all works out,” Attanasio said.

The 1995 Brewers deal to construct the stadium formerly known as Miller Park authorized government bonding, or borrowing, to pay for construction of the stadium. Borrowing for the project totaled more than $259 million, according to a 2019 memo from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Taxpayers in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, Waukesha and Racine counties paid an extra 0.1 percent sales tax to retire that debt and the associated interest. Evers signed a law in 2019 requiring the local sales tax to expire in 2020.

Rick Schlesinger, the president of business operations for the Milwaukee Brewers, also appeared at the Thursday hearing. He said even though Milwaukee is the smallest market in the league, the team has posted the ninth-best attendance in baseball since 2007.

“We want to sign a generational lease extension. We want to be here through 2050,” Schlesinger said.

“But to be here, we need to know that our landlord (Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District) has the money it needs to meet its obligations,” he added.

Part of the plan includes winterizing the stadium so it can be used for events in colder months.

The plan comes months after Gov. Tony Evers proposed spending $290 million of the state’s budget surplus to fund improvements. Weeks after that announcement, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said that deal was likely “dead.”

A 2020 report from Conventions, Sports and Leisure International found the Brewers paid about $106.8 million in upgrades to maintain the stadium since its creation. They’ve also paid about $20 million in rent to the stadium district since 2001. That report also found that from 2001 to 2019, the stadium created $2.5 billion in total output for the state, including $1.6 billion in direct spending and $263 in new taxes.