(The Center Square) – The plan to spend $500 million in taxpayer money on the Milwaukee Brewers’ ballpark is heading for its next vote, despite not being a done deal.
Brewer President of Business Operations Rick Schlessinger said there is talk of a ticket tax as part of the final deal, but nothing is certain, yet.
“While there have been ongoing discussions on a ticket tax tied to concerts and other non-baseball events hosted at the ballpark, we’ve yet to see a formalized proposal on what that could look like from the legislature,” Schlesinger told The Center Square. “The devil is always in the details, and as bipartisan momentum for a deal continues to grow in the legislature, we’ll continue to work with stakeholders on both sides of the aisle to review any and all proposals.”
The Wisconsin Senate has scheduled a public hearing on the ballpark package for Wednesday.
One thing is almost certain, however. Schlesinger said the Brewers do not support a tax on tickets for Brewer games.
“The simple fact is adding a ticket tax to baseball games conflicts with our goal of making games affordable to fans at all income levels,” Schlesinger said. “It’s important to remember that the Brewers are in the smallest market in Major League Baseball, and our business model relies very much on fan attendance. With thousands of seats priced regularly around $10.00 per game, adding a surcharge on top of that price is a regressive tax and would greatly hurt our most cost-conscious fans.”
Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, last week said he’d suggest a ticket tax be added to the proposal.
“I support a ticket tax or user fee for attendees of games/events at the stadium,” Carpenter said on social media.
He said a $3 ticket tax could raise as much as $7.5 million a year.
The stadium funding package would spend more than $400 million in state money, $135 million from Milwaukee and Milwaukee County, and another $100 million from the Brewers on repairs and upgrades at American Family Field.
In exchange for the public money, the Brewers would agree to stay in Milwaukee until 2050.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson has suggested adding an entertainment district, known as The Beer District, to the funding package as well.
Schlesinger said the team is open to the idea but is leery about removing parking and tailgating for fans to build it.
“As a part of the bipartisan legislation voted on last week, the Brewers have committed to joining an exploratory committee that would evaluate the opportunities and challenges of developing the real estate around the ballpark,” Schlesinger said. “Our goal in these discussions is to explore all potential and realistic revenue opportunities from development while preserving the tailgating experience for our fans and respecting the needs of the neighboring communities. “
