Lawmakers pass Bucks arena deal, sending it to Gov. Walker
By John Kanaly and Rhonda Roberts Published: July 27, 2015, 3:46 pm Updated: July 28, 2015, 5:39 pm
The Wisconsin Assembly has passed a $500 million deal to finance a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks.
The deal was passed Tuesday in a 52-34 vote.
The bill now goes to Gov. Scott Walker for his signature. A spokeswoman for Walker expressed his support for the bill and his intent to sign it into law. Walker’s spokeswoman says the bill protects taxpayers from the financial impact of losing the Bucks.
The Bucks released this statement after the vote:
Today, our collective effort to create a world-class sports and entertainment district in the heart of Milwaukee took a monumental step forward thanks to the bipartisan leadership of elected officials in Madison. We’re incredibly grateful for the commitment of state, county and city officials to work together in a historic fashion to help shape this public-private partnership. There’s still work to be done and we look forward to building on this progress with the city and county, but the passage of legislation today makes our future much clearer. The Bucks will not only remain home in Wisconsin, but we’ll soon begin a transformative economic development project that will help revitalize our community and region.” – Peter Feigin, Bucks President.
The Bucks owners would pay $250 million toward the arena. Taxpayers would initially be on the hook for $250 million, which would equal about $400 million over 20 years when taking interest into account. Only about $80 million of that amount would actually come from the state. The majority of the public funding would come from the City of Milwaukee and the county along with an increase in a ticket surcharge and the continuation of an already existing tax on rental cars, rooms, and food and beverage collected by the Wisconsin Center District.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) says the deal is proof lawmakers from both sides can come together:
“This arena plan is a good financial move. It protects state taxpayers and brings new economic development to Milwaukee,” Vos said. “We have proven that it is cheaper to keep the Bucks in Wisconsin than to lose them. This is a smart investment that will have numerous economic benefits for the area and the state as a whole.”
Republican Rep. Andre Jacque of De Pere voted against the bill.
He said, “What I heard a lot from my constituents, which is really where I was at, is that without either a referendum component or a substantial decreased state participation there really was a better deal to be had.”
Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Dave Murphy of Greenville did not vote for the deal. He said he did not want to make taxpayers responsible for the arena.
“The state should not be in the business of giving taxpayer money to millionaire basketball players and billionaire team owners,” Murphy said.
He continued, “Why should citizens in the Fox Valley, who pay for their own projects, have to pitch in for Milwaukee’s?”