Brewers to stay in Milwaukee until at least 2050
Wisconsin lawmakers approved a plan Tuesday that will help the Brewers repair American Family Field over the next three decades. The grant is worth $500 million and the Senate approved the legislation on a 19-14 vote. The Assembly followed suit Tuesday evening, passing the proposal 72-26. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers is expected to sign it into law.
“It’s a great day for the franchise,” Rich Schlesinger, Brewers President of Business Operations, said this week. “But I think an even greater day for the state.”
There is a lot that is wrong with American Family Field. The glass outfield doors, concourses and seats need to be replaced. The retractable roof, as well as parking lots and fire suppression systems, need upgrades as well.
The Brewers publically stated that if they didn’t receive public funding for these issues, they would leave Milwaukee.
Lawmakers have been figuring out a plan for this since September. There will always be issues when a team worth over $1.5 billion asks the public for money. Since the team seemed adamant on leaving, lawmakers were determined to find a solution or they would’ve risked losing millions of dollars in tax revenue generated from the Brewers.
After the plan was amended multiple times, the breakdown for who pays what was made final: The Brewers will contribute $110 million, the state will contribute $365.8 million and ticket surcharges will bring in an estimated $20.7 million.
Part of the reason this plan went through was that Republican Senator Dan Feyen believes that the team will generate more than $600 million in income tax revenue over the next three decades.
“The state of Wisconsin is far better off with the Brewers here,” Feyen said. “This is a good deal for baseball fans, a good deal for taxpayers, a good deal for the state of Wisconsin. The vote is yes.“
I think this plan will work out well and lawmakers need to help out, as the Brewers are the smallest market team in the league. It would’ve been a gut punch to the city of Milwaukee to get swept by the Diamondbacks, lose Craig Counsell to the Cubs and then lose the team entirely in just over a month.
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