Local lawmakers aren’t sold on cost of Milwaukee Bucks arena
By Jason Zimmerman
Published: June 4, 2015, 5:15 am Updated: June 4, 2015, 11:47 pm
Gov. Scott Walker and Milwaukee County officials touted their funding plan for a new $500 million downtown arena to keep the Milwaukee Bucks in Wisconsin, saying it would cost the state more to do nothing.
In a news conference Thursday afternoon in Madison, the governor announced a deal in which the new owners and former owner Herb Kohl would cover half of the cost of the arena, with taxpayers covering the other half. The state would provide up to $80 million and local taxes on restaurants, hotel rooms and rental cars would cover the remaining amount. He said the state would get a 3-to-1 return on its investment.
“This is a great partnership between public and private, state and local. As I’ve said this money, it’s important to remember it’s cheaper to keep them,” Walker said.
With presentation boards bearing the phrase “Cheaper to Keep Them,” Gov. Walker stressed over and over that the cost to taxpayers to help finance the arena outweighs the revenue loss if the team leaves Wisconsin. The NBA is threatening to buy the team and move it unless a new stadium is built by 2017. The BMO Harris Bradley Center is now 27 years old.
“Just in those very conservative estimates it’s $419 million is the cost of doing nothing. Not a very good alternative versus right now what we are talking about is a new arena plan just for the state alone would be capped out at $80 million,” Walker said.
It’s unclear whether the deal will have enough votes to pass the Republican-controlled Legislature, where some members have been unhappy about the public cost.
“If Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee want to spend money on something like that, fine, go ahead and do that. But I want to make sure taxpayers in the Fox Valley aren’t going to get beat up on this thing,” Rep. David Murphy, a Greenville Republican, said.
“As a resident of Brown County, we refinanced the Lambeau Field stadium upgrades. We did not have state support at that point. So that certainly is a legitimate concern brought to me by my constituents, and I think I’m going to certainly scrutinize this deal very closely now that all the elements are out on the table,” De Pere Republican Rep. Andre Jacque said.
Right now the Bucks arena proposal is part of the state budget, which must pass before the end of June. Some say it should be taken out for a stand-alone vote, which would allow for more scrutiny without the time crunch.
“I think there are some legitimate costs long-term, but we’re going to have to look at what those costs are and what it means for the public,” Rep. Gordon Hintz, an Oshkosh Democrat, said. “When we open it up and see what is in there, it makes me a little nervous to say that this is going to be a good deal. I understand the cost that is associated with doing nothing, but the reality is we’re going to have to wait and see.”
“There’s a lot of things that I see in this that could potentially go wrong, and I want to make sure that this gets vetted very, very well before I put my stamp of approval on it,” Murphy said.
Conservative groups, including Americans for Prosperity, founded by billionaires Charles and David Koch, have said the deal is a bad one for taxpayers.
Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele said losing the Bucks would create a huge hole in the budget which would likely force cuts to social services and other government-funded programs.
Mayor Barrett, a Democrat, who lost to Walker twice in a gubernatorial election and in the recall election, stood behind Governor Walker in presenting this proposal. The intent was to show bipartisan support. Both will encourage support for it in their respective parties.