Legislation being introduced for future funding of American Family Field: UPDATE New lease through 2050

[Fear The Chorizo]

2 hours ago, owbc said:

Back in the day these lots would normally be full for a crowd of 40,000, but I noticed when I was in Milwaukee earlier this summer that the lots don't fill up as much as they did 10 or 15 years ago. 

I'm guessing Uber/Lyft is what changed???

Thinking people have generally gotten better at groups taking just 1 or 2 vehicles to the game instead of 6 people arriving in 6 vehicles, too.  There has been an impact with Uber/Lyft - but also an impact of designated drivers (all good things)

Plus on a tuesday night, I doubt the playoff game attendance is full of fans from far reaches of WI, too.  And the dbacks aren't an opponent where you're going to see their fans driving up for the game compared to Midwest teams.  I'd be curious to know what those back lots looked like over this past weekend with the Cubs in town.

[owbc]

11 minutes ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

Thinking people have generally gotten better at groups taking just 1 or 2 vehicles to the game instead of 6 people arriving in 6 vehicles, too.  There has been an impact with Uber/Lyft - but also an impact of designated drivers (all good things)

Plus on a tuesday night, I doubt the playoff game attendance is full of fans from far reaches of WI, too.  And the dbacks aren't an opponent where you're going to see their fans driving up for the game compared to Midwest teams.  I'd be curious to know what those back lots looked like over this past weekend with the Cubs in town.

There's no doubt in my mind that parking lot usage is down significantly. I was in Wisconsin at the end of August and drove by during the Saturday night game against San Diego that was nearly sold out and the parking lots looked similar to those photos above. Maybe for Cubs games it is higher, I don't know, but it used to be a common thing for the lots to completely fill up, requiring them to park cars along the road to squeeze everybody in. 

Even the last time I was there in 2018 for the NLCS I wasn't able to purchase parking because I bought tickets at the last second and the lots were sold out. 

I'm sure the calculation for the Brewers is pretty straightforward -- they make more money by charging more and it's also better for traffic and the environment. 

[Jimbo]

23 hours ago, MrTPlush said:

One can hail Selig for keeping baseball in Milwaukee, but the downfall was the fact he demanded the ballpark right where it already was instead of the downtown location the city preferred. 

This is getting a tad political, but a big part of that conversation was Waukesha County residents who didn't want to drive downtown (it's too much further/we can't tailgate) possible dogwhistles.  Yes, at the time other cities were building their stadiums downtown.

 

[Jimbo]

21 hours ago, owbc said:

Back in the day these lots would normally be full for a crowd of 40,000, but I noticed when I was in Milwaukee earlier this summer that the lots don't fill up as much as they did 10 or 15 years ago. 

I'm guessing Uber/Lyft is what changed???

I concur.  I park in the Molitor lot and of the games I attended, it never filler past "Molitor 2".  This summer is the first time a sub-consciously noticed it.

 

 

[Jastro]

 

[sobomp3]

I feel like shuttle service has expanded a bunch during the past decade too... Probably for the better traffic and drunk-driving-wise. I haven't tailgated in over 5 years. I walk to the bar, grab a beer or two and an app, and hop on the shuttle.

[brooks_quichenick]

3 minutes ago, sobomp3 said:

I feel like shuttle service has expanded a bunch during the past decade too... Probably for the better traffic and drunk-driving-wise. I haven't tailgated in over 5 years. I walk to the bar, grab a beer or two and an app, and hop on the shuttle.

Yea I find myself taking a shuttle way more than tailgating these days. The biggest part of it for me is that I don't have the time to tailgate any longer. Most of the time I'm leaving work, stopping home, and then running to the bar to catch a shuttle. Going to 40 games this season, I probably tailgated ~5 of those times.

[Marc Newfield of Dreams]

I'm almost exclusively a shuttle user now, unless I take one of my kids to a game and need that flexibility of being able to bounce early.

I'd rather spend $20 on a couple beers and an app than a place to put my car.

[homer]

 

MILWAUKEE - A Wisconsin Assembly committee met Thursday, Oct. 12 to review and approve a tweaked American Family Field funding bill.

The city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County are on board with the changes, documents obtained by FOX6 News show. Lawmakers of both parties also told FOX6 that Gov. Tony Evers is on board.

The deal will still have city, county, state and Brewers pay for repairs, but the tweak will mean both the city and county are not losing money. 

.

.

The new plan will create a development working group – which will include representatives from the city, county, state and Brewers – to study developing land in and around American Family Field. They are to look at all options for the area, including industrial, commercial, entertainment and residential. 

[Brewcrew82]

1 hour ago, homer said:

 

MILWAUKEE - A Wisconsin Assembly committee met Thursday, Oct. 12 to review and approve a tweaked American Family Field funding bill.

The city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County are on board with the changes, documents obtained by FOX6 News show. Lawmakers of both parties also told FOX6 that Gov. Tony Evers is on board.

The deal will still have city, county, state and Brewers pay for repairs, but the tweak will mean both the city and county are not losing money. 

.

.

The new plan will create a development working group – which will include representatives from the city, county, state and Brewers – to study developing land in and around American Family Field. They are to look at all options for the area, including industrial, commercial, entertainment and residential. 

Sounds like we're getting closer to the end here, with the caveat being that this is politics and things can change quickly. 

On a somewhat related note, wonder if MLB doesn't reward the team by announcing an ASG to MKE within the next 7-8 years....Seattle just had one and they hosted the year before us in 2001. 

[patrickgpe]

It does sound promising, but until the last i is dotted I won’t have a celebratory drink. 
regarding the all star game, I think that ship sailed. I remember complaining about serving hotdogs and brats in the media game. Milwaukee is an awesome city in the summer, but I’d imagine cities with similar aged parks like Chicago or Pittsburgh would be more desirable. Also I know Cleveland is doing renovations this summer, so they would be a candidate. There really hasn’t been that many new parks this decade so that’s probably not the priority it was in the 00’s. 
 

off topic, but the it’s the bucks that deserve an all star game. 

[MrTPlush]

It will be interesting to see what potential improvements (not just repairs will happen) may transpire.

The way attendance has gone, when they do the seating replacement, will we see a more high end area behind home plate?

When we replace the outfield door, is it possible for them to be clear…so it feels a tad less like an airplane hanger? 
 

Video board needs upgrading…will we finally see a second video along the lines in the terrace level so OF seating has something?

Of course you have the ‘Beer District’ task force…but I doubt much comes of that. 

[patrickgpe]

There is no indication that it will pass or not on Tuesday. There has been support and opposition on both sides. 
I think most of the money is earmarked towards the roof. My guess is amenities like heat were removed to reduce the total cost,  but that’s a guess. 

I would imagine the beer district is dead. Sell outs use the every space in the lot so removing 800 seems foolish. Also the brewers would have to agree to lose the revenue from this spots. 
 

personally I think the part of the stadium that the fans see is fine, but I’m sure the roof needs a massive upgrade after 23 seasons of use.  The brewers have already committed to a new scoreboard in 2024 on their dime. 

[Brewcrew82]

1 hour ago, patrickgpe said:

There is no indication that it will pass or not on Tuesday. There has been support and opposition on both sides. 
I think most of the money is earmarked towards the roof. My guess is amenities like heat were removed to reduce the total cost,  but that’s a guess. 

I would imagine the beer district is dead. Sell outs use the every space in the lot so removing 800 seems foolish. Also the brewers would have to agree to lose the revenue from this spots. 
 

personally I think the part of the stadium that the fans see is fine, but I’m sure the roof needs a massive upgrade after 23 seasons of use.  The brewers have already committed to a new scoreboard in 2024 on their dime. 

I doubt they make this announcement and bring it up for a vote if they’re not sure they have the votes. They would know.

[patrickgpe]

26 minutes ago, Brewcrew82 said:

I doubt they make this announcement and bring it up for a vote if they’re not sure they have the votes. They would know.

I hope you are right, I just saw lawmakers opposed to it. I guess we will see on Tuesday and hopefully we can all celebrate it being over with 

[MrTPlush]

2 hours ago, patrickgpe said:

 The brewers have already committed to a new scoreboard in 2024 on their dime. 

The stadium district is paying for the new scoreboard. It’s actually been due for a new one since about 20/21.

I see looking back they actually had a lengthy debate about whether or not they could charge the stadium district for a second one. Seems as though the answer was no. Probably going to see it fairly soon after these eventually all gets passed in some form.

[bucks2281]

12 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

I doubt they make this announcement and bring it up for a vote if they’re not sure they have the votes. They would know.

Yep, this will pass the Assembly on Tuesday. But it still needs to get through the Senate, too. They might want tweaks, which means it’ll require another vote in the Assembly. It might be a little while. 

[Fire Manfred]

I’ve contacted my Legislators and urged them to oppose any taxpayer funding for this boondoggle.  They just want to soak the already overburdened tax paying citizens right before they cut payroll to Marlins levels knowing the park will be 3/4 empty. Enough funding millionaires and billionaires.  

[JosephC]

3 hours ago, Fire Manfred said:

I’ve contacted my Legislators and urged them to oppose any taxpayer funding for this boondoggle.  They just want to soak the already overburdened tax paying citizens right before they cut payroll to Marlins levels knowing the park will be 3/4 empty. Enough funding millionaires and billionaires.  

Couldn't agree more.  This gets more and more ridiculous by the day.

It started at 290 million.  Then it became 360 million for a 13 year extension.  Now the latest I see is 411 million from the state, 67.5 million from the county, 67.5 million from the city = 546 million for a 20 year extension.  

Of course, don't forget that originally Miller Park was sold to the public as a 300 million dollar project that would be a 50/50 private/public split.  The original 150 million price-tag sold to us turned into 600+ million by the time the local sales tax ended.  Looks like that 150 million will soon turn into 1.15+ billion.

Regardless of any lease, it's a guarantee that Attanasio or whoever owns the Brewers in 2040 are going to come to us and say the stadium is now a 40 year old junk heap and it's time to forget about the last 10 years on the lease, bulldoze the stadium and build me a new one which will likely carry a 3 billion dollar price-tag by that time.

But, but, but...these projects bring in so much revenue they pay for themselves.  Anybody in this state that pays attention would have to be a complete fool to believe that.  Just look at the Bucks and their arena.  Shortly after that deal was done, MPS had their first referendum in 26 years because they needed more money.  The Bucks arena has been such a financial windfall for the area that the city and county both had to raise taxes to be able to pay for what they are terming essential services.  If the Bucks arena was such a great deal for the area, you could never tell by what has happened since then.

It is just so unnecessary for the taxpayer to be continuously soaked by these professional sports franchises.  Forbes estimates the current Brewer revenue at 294 million.  There are 27 years between now and 2050.  27 years * 294 million = just short of 8 BILLION dollars.  We really need to give this guy 546 million dollars?  I say let that guy move the team after 2030, public is much better off IMO rather than handing over 546 million now and potentially having him and politicians gouge the public for another 3+ billion dollars in 2045 when he claims he "needs" a new stadium.  This money pit is endless.  Just cut the cord now!

[sveumrules]

3 hours ago, Fire Manfred said:

right before they cut payroll to Marlins levels knowing the park will be 3/4 empty.

Those are two rather large assumptions stated as future certainties.

The lowest attendance in MP/AmFam history was 1.7M back in 2003, 21K per game twenty years ago.

With a capacity of 41,900 attendance would essentially have to slice that 2003 number in half to to 10.5K per game to hit 3/4 empty.

The only two games under 20K this year were the Tuesday/Wednesday after Opening Day.

I’ll take the over.

[jerichoholicninja]

3 hours ago, Fire Manfred said:

I’ve contacted my Legislators and urged them to oppose any taxpayer funding for this boondoggle.  They just want to soak the already overburdened tax paying citizens right before they cut payroll to Marlins levels knowing the park will be 3/4 empty. Enough funding millionaires and billionaires.  

I don't totally disagree with the beginning and end of what you said but the middle part is so ridiculous I don't even know what to say.

[rickh150]

41 minutes ago, JosephC said:

Couldn't agree more.  This gets more and more ridiculous by the day.

It started at 290 million.  Then it became 360 million for a 13 year extension.  Now the latest I see is 411 million from the state, 67.5 million from the county, 67.5 million from the city = 546 million for a 20 year extension.  

Of course, don't forget that originally Miller Park was sold to the public as a 300 million dollar project that would be a 50/50 private/public split.  The original 150 million price-tag sold to us turned into 600+ million by the time the local sales tax ended.  Looks like that 150 million will soon turn into 1.15+ billion.

Regardless of any lease, it's a guarantee that Attanasio or whoever owns the Brewers in 2040 are going to come to us and say the stadium is now a 40 year old junk heap and it's time to forget about the last 10 years on the lease, bulldoze the stadium and build me a new one which will likely carry a 3 billion dollar price-tag by that time.

But, but, but...these projects bring in so much revenue they pay for themselves.  Anybody in this state that pays attention would have to be a complete fool to believe that.  Just look at the Bucks and their arena.  Shortly after that deal was done, MPS had their first referendum in 26 years because they needed more money.  The Bucks arena has been such a financial windfall for the area that the city and county both had to raise taxes to be able to pay for what they are terming essential services.  If the Bucks arena was such a great deal for the area, you could never tell by what has happened since then.

It is just so unnecessary for the taxpayer to be continuously soaked by these professional sports franchises.  Forbes estimates the current Brewer revenue at 294 million.  There are 27 years between now and 2050.  27 years * 294 million = just short of 8 BILLION dollars.  We really need to give this guy 546 million dollars?  I say let that guy move the team after 2030, public is much better off IMO rather than handing over 546 million now and potentially having him and politicians gouge the public for another 3+ billion dollars in 2045 when he claims he "needs" a new stadium.  This money pit is endless.  Just cut the cord now!

Then "cut" the Brewers from Wisconsin..... it's the cost for professional sports.  If that is what you are saying, then fine.  If not, you are living in a different reality.  Cities and counties and states need to support the team or they are headed to a different place where there will be support.   I respect your opinion and agree with it. 

I just would hate losing the Brewers to Nashville 

[bucks2281]

1 hour ago, JosephC said:

Couldn't agree more.  This gets more and more ridiculous by the day.

It started at 290 million.  Then it became 360 million for a 13 year extension.  Now the latest I see is 411 million from the state, 67.5 million from the county, 67.5 million from the city = 546 million for a 20 year extension.  

Of course, don't forget that originally Miller Park was sold to the public as a 300 million dollar project that would be a 50/50 private/public split.  The original 150 million price-tag sold to us turned into 600+ million by the time the local sales tax ended.  Looks like that 150 million will soon turn into 1.15+ billion.

Regardless of any lease, it's a guarantee that Attanasio or whoever owns the Brewers in 2040 are going to come to us and say the stadium is now a 40 year old junk heap and it's time to forget about the last 10 years on the lease, bulldoze the stadium and build me a new one which will likely carry a 3 billion dollar price-tag by that time.

But, but, but...these projects bring in so much revenue they pay for themselves.  Anybody in this state that pays attention would have to be a complete fool to believe that.  Just look at the Bucks and their arena.  Shortly after that deal was done, MPS had their first referendum in 26 years because they needed more money.  The Bucks arena has been such a financial windfall for the area that the city and county both had to raise taxes to be able to pay for what they are terming essential services.  If the Bucks arena was such a great deal for the area, you could never tell by what has happened since then.

It is just so unnecessary for the taxpayer to be continuously soaked by these professional sports franchises.  Forbes estimates the current Brewer revenue at 294 million.  There are 27 years between now and 2050.  27 years * 294 million = just short of 8 BILLION dollars.  We really need to give this guy 546 million dollars?  I say let that guy move the team after 2030, public is much better off IMO rather than handing over 546 million now and potentially having him and politicians gouge the public for another 3+ billion dollars in 2045 when he claims he "needs" a new stadium.  This money pit is endless.  Just cut the cord now!

Say what you will about the Brewers proposal, but the Bucks deal is objectively really anything but a boondoggle. The majority of the arena is financed with revenues from an existing sales tax on rental cars, hotels, etc. The state’s portion is partially offset by an arena ticket tax and is way less than the income tax generated by the players. The city’s portion is paid via TIF and the county’s is a small reduction in shared revenue.  It has absolutely nothing to do with the MPS referendum or the sales taxes recently approved. Both of those things would have happened, even if the Bucks had left. 

[homer]

44 minutes ago, jerichoholicninja said:

I don't totally disagree with the beginning and end of what you said but the middle part is so ridiculous I don't even know what to say.

If Attanasio were to sell the team, they would more than likely cut the payroll down quite a bit. Selig did it after they built Miller Park.

They sold after the 2004 season.

(Obviously, that's a big "if")

[Team Canada]

5 hours ago, JosephC said:

There are 27 years between now and 2050.  27 years * 294 million = just short of 8 BILLION dollars.  We really need to give this guy 546 million dollars?

I'm not following the connection between yearly revenue and this debate? That's not profit.