It appears the Wisconsin State Senate will slow action on the proposed roughly $600 million stadium maintenance package for the Milwaukee Brewers.
The measure the State Assembly passed last week includes using $400 million from income taxes on Brewers players and employees, and visiting players. The best paid of those people pay the state's top tax rate. Also $135 million in city and county of Milwaukee sales taxes would be steered toward the stadium. The Brewers would kick in $100 million and agree to a lease extension at the ballpark until 2050.
But at a Senate committee hearing Wednesday, key Assembly author Robert Brooks (R-Saukville) said he expects the GOP-controlled upper chamber to make changes.
"I've learned in my nine years here that if I provided the Senate with the Holy Bible, you would have amendments. No matter how good a bill I send you, you are going to put your mark on it," Brooks told the panel.
There could be multiple marks. Brooks acknowledges there could be amendments adding a ticket tax for non-Brewers events, a battle over whether to allow Milwaukee representatives on a revamped stadium district board, and even changes years ahead if Senate Republicans someday get their wish to reduce the top income tax rate.
Senate leaders say they don't have enough GOP votes for the stadium package and will need Democratic support. Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) told Brewers President Rick Schlesinger that she's not optimistic about the eventual recommendations from a study group the bill would set up. The group, Roys noted, would look at the possible development of some of the state-owned but team-controlled parking lots near the stadium and use of that property tax revenue to help pay for major stadium repairs.
"And when you visited our caucus, I will generously say you were pretty cool to the suggestion that we consider developing parts of the parking," Roys told Schlesinger.
He replied: "The fact that I have the reputation of being hostile to development is unfortunate, because that's clearly not my DNA."
Schlesinger said he backs real estate development that's viable and financially logical.
In the public comments section of Wednesday's hearing, the senators mainly heard business groups and minor-league baseball teams support helping the Brewers.
But they also heard from Robert Kraig, of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. He said he's not against a deal. But Kraig says this proposal seems short on community benefits, compared to one the Milwaukee Bucks agreed to for their partly-publicly funded new arena.
"The Fiserv deal for the Bucks had a lot more specific community benefits attached to it than this deal does. And we should look at that. A lot of the other stadium deals that have occurred around the country in recent years have had more. And furthermore, you have states that are starting to not do this," Kraig said.
Not agree to new stadium deals for sports teams, Kraig said.
But the Brewers and many Republicans say they're close to a deal here. Team official Schlesinger said he's willing to set up a behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium so lawmakers can get a better look at the major maintenance projects the Brewers say will be needed in the next couple of decades.
The baseball club says it's just trying to get the state—which owns American Family Field—to be a good landlord and live up to terms of the original stadium agreement in the 1990's.
Legislative hearing audio provided by Wisconsin Eye.
