As the Milwaukee Brewers pursue a spot in the baseball playoffs, fans, former players and team executives wait to see if politicians can reach a stadium financing deal for the team.
The Brewers say they will need hundreds of millions of dollars in state taxpayer help over the next couple of decades to keep American Family Field ready for action.
The five-county sales tax that funded most of the stadium construction and upkeep over the last 25 years has expired. The Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District, which oversees taxpayer-funded spending on American Family Field, says it still has about 70 million dollars in reserve funds. But studies have shown possible immediate ballpark improvements exceed that number. Then some possible major repairs and improvements may be needed after the Brewers' current lease expires in 2030.
Brewers President of Business Operations Rick Schlesinger recently told WUWM to consider the retractable roof at the stadium. Schlesinger says the Stadium District so far has done a great job of keeping the roof working.
"We're very fortunate. But that's not a small expense. Obviously, if something were to happen that required a lot of replacement parts, it's not an inexpensive mechanism," Schlesinger says.
Or, Schlesinger says, consider the stadium's other amenities.
"You've got vertical transportation: a lot of elevators, a lot of escalators. You've got seats, you've got technology. You've got boilers, chillers, concession areas — all the back-of-the-house equipment that the fans don't necessarily see but is critical to the safety, comfort and enjoyment of the facility by hopefully three million fans (per year.) So again, a lot of what we are trying to do is make sure we don't run into problems funding things. That the District has plenty of money to do the kinds of preventive work that it needs to do, and not delay or defer projects," Schlesinger says, adding deferred maintenance of big-ticket items often leads to major problems.
In his state budget proposal this year, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) recommended $290 million in taxpayer help for the Brewers in return for the team offering to extend their lease at the ballpark from 2030 to 2043. But Republicans knocked Evers' plan out of the budget and into separate legislation that GOP lawmakers say might be ready by next month.
After buying tickets at American Family Field the other day, a fan who gave her name as Jill said she hopes the state helps the team, maintaining they bring a lot to the area.
"I mean obviously, there's the financial impact. I think that the fans here, there's such a great fan base. I mean, Giannis being part of the Brewers, it's very community oriented," Jill says.
Giannis is of course, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who bought into the Brewers ownership group a couple years ago.
But a ticket buyer who gave his name as Dave, says with the wealth of the team's executives —principal owner Mark Attanasio is reportedly worth at least $700 million — the Brewers should pay for all stadium maintenance.
"Well, they're my hometown baseball team. I love 'em, you know. But the millionaires and billionaires that own this team have the money. You want to continue to make money, you need to invest your money in here, not the taxpayers," Dave says.
The Milwaukee County Board and some city of Milwaukee leaders say any taxpayer assistance should not come through local budgets.
Meanwhile, the Brewers continue to field a winning ballclub with a chance to get back to the playoffs. The team is also running its other promotions, including one called This One's On Me:
"The next couple of hours, the tab's on us. So drink up boys,'' former Brewers all star Corey Hart said to cheers on August 11 at the Milwaukee Brat House, telling patrons the team was paying for their food and beverages that evening.
Hart is also open to more taxpayer help for his old team, noting the relatively small Milwaukee market.
"It's such a unique place to be — the city being a small market — but we also have one of the highest fan bases out there. It's a unique situation," Hart says.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel quoted unnamed sources last week, claiming the Brewers could start looking for a new city by this fall if there isn't a financing deal.
But with years to go on the team's lease, it would seem state politicians will have more than one turn at bat to reach any agreement.
