The worst problem a sports team can have is not a poor product on the field but issues with their home venue. Whether it’s renovating or building a new stadium altogether, asking the government for money is complicated. The Milwaukee Brewers need renovations done to their home field. Due to having difficulty getting money from the state to get them done, the team has been reportedly pondering relocation. It’s time for the state of Wisconsin’s legislature to stop its usual squabbling and give the funds necessary to renovate the stadium.
The Brewers Are Just A Tenant Of The Stadium
Embed from Getty ImagesBefore all the idiots of social media cry out “Billionaires should build their own stadiums and not beg for handouts;” Brewers owner Mark Anttanasio doesn’t even own American Family Field. The owner and operator of the stadium is Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball District. The district oversees the “planning, financing, designing, constructing, commissioning, operating, and maintaining American Family Field.” They are in effect the landlord and the Brewers are just a tenant of the stadium.
The Dissolvement Of The Five County Tax Has Created Problems
Embed from Getty ImagesRepairs and stadium costs were originally covered in the five-county one-cent tax. This was paid in the counties of Milwaukee, Racine, Washington, Ozaukee, and Waukesha. While the tax was slated to end in 2010, the district officially put it to rest in 2020. However, without it, the stadium district doesn’t have the funds to cover the costs of repairs. The team is already against reimplementing the tax meaning they’ll have to get funding from somewhere else.
Where Negotiations Currently Stand
Embed from Getty ImagesBelieve it or not, Wisconsin currently has a surplus in state funding. Currently, the stadium needs an estimated $448 million for renovations and repairs over 28 years. Back in February, Democratic Governor Tony Evers proposed giving $290 million of it to the district for the repairs. This would also extend the Brewers lease at the stadium an additional 13 years. Milwaukee’s current lease at American Family Field runs through 2030 and then after has a series of five two-year club options. However, as it has gone for most of Evers’s time in office, the Republican-controlled legislature turned it down and is trying to work on their own funding deal.
Called Out By The Commissioner Of Baseball
Embed from Getty ImagesBack in June, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred came out to Milwaukee as part of his annual tour of the league. He expressed immediate concern about the upkeep of the stadium. Manfred went as far as to call out the legislature to get a funding deal done or risk losing the Brewers to another city. The commissioner even CITED the Oakland Athletics as an example and cautionary tale to prove his point. However, he did express optimism for the governing bodies to get a deal done. When you’re being called out by the commissioner of baseball, this should be a message to do something quickly.
The Brewers Want To Get The Repairs Done In Time For 2024
Embed from Getty ImagesThe team would like to start the repair work this offseason and have it done in time for Opening Day. However, with the legislature at an impasse, naturally, the Brewers are eyeing relocation. The Brewers are just doing this to get the process moving faster as the relocation process takes years to complete. The Brewers want to stay in Milwaukee, but need the legislature to put aside the political theatrics and get a deal done.
This Is A Baseball City First
Embed from Getty ImagesThe biggest thing in Milwaukee to do during the summertime is to take in a Brewers game. Don’t let the recent success of the NBA’s Bucks fool you, Milwaukee has always been a “baseball-first city.” The Brewers are regularly in the top half of the league in attendance. Baseball has been in Milwaukee in some form for over 70 years. The Bucks didn’t become a team until 1968.
Imagine Losing An MLB Team Twice
The city has already experienced the devastation of losing one MLB team, imagine how much more devastating it would be to lose another one. If the legislature wants information about that, they can ask Washington D.C, prior to the Nationals arriving in 2005, the District of Columbia hadn’t had Major League Baseball since 1971. In the age of social media, the outrage would be seen and felt all over the country. This would all be because of the two parties in the Madison, Wisconsin are unable to get out of their own way.
Long Past Time For The Legislature To Step Up To the Plate
Embed from Getty ImagesNo politician wants to be known as the one to have let a major sports team leave their state. No matter what else they do in public office, it often cements their legacy. Up until he died, William Donald Schafer never got over the fact that he was the mayor who had the Baltimore Colts leave. Wisconsin and the city of Milwaukee have already experienced the devastation of losing an MLB team, imagine losing baseball again. The political theatre has dragged on long enough. It’s time for the legislature to put their egos aside and work together, otherwise, they’ll be known as the ones that let baseball get way again. I’ve experienced some magical things at American Family Field and future generations deserve that opportunity as well.
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