American Family Field funding, poll sheds light on public support
MILWAUKEE - The Wisconsin Assembly will hold a public hearing Thursday, Oct. 5 on the proposed use of tax funds for American Family Field repairs and improvements.
It's part of the multi-million pitch to keep the Brewers in Milwaukee through 2050.
"I think it would be a good investment because they are going to get their money back tenfold," said Shorewood resident Dianna Johnson. "People are going to go to the baseball game. And sometimes you need a change."
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"It’s already pretty fancy over there, at least in my opinion when I went," said Mary Riley, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student. "I feel there could be better uses for the money, like for schools or the roads."
The Assembly Republican game plan would have the state pay $400 million, roughly $13-20 million per year. The number comes from tapping into some of the income tax that comes to the state from Major League Baseball. The Brewers would add about $140 million. The sticking point is with the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County, which would be on the hook for up to a combined $200 million over the course of the lease.
American Family Field
As these issues are debated across Wisconsin, VISIT Milwaukee and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) commissioned a new poll. It found two-thirds of Wisconsin voters want the governor and legislature to work together to solve a funding shortfall at American Family Field. The groups didn't share the full polling data, but released a polling memo put together by the pollster, Tarrence Group, which has a B+ grade according to FiveThirtyEight’s Pollster Ratings.
The poll also questions voters about a funding option. It reads: "there is a proposal in the state Legislature to cover this shortfall with a combination of funding from the state of Wisconsin, the regional Stadium District, and the Brewers organization jointly paying for these improvements." Fifty-eight percent of respondents supported that proposal, but the question made no mention the Assembly GOP plan would also require Milwaukee city and county chip in a couple hundred million dollars.
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"You can’t really call this a poll. This is more of a press release," Dan Adams, director of Milwaukee Works, said. "This is really just a puff piece. It’s more of a press release, as it were, to try to bolster some support for what is a failing project."
Last month, Adams's Milwaukee Works commissioned Public Policy Polling, which FiveThirtyEight’s Pollster Ratings gives an A-, to sample people just in Milwaukee County. They asked: "Generally speaking, do you support or oppose tax money being used to pay for improvements to the Brewers baseball stadium, sometimes called a stadium subsidy?" It found 56% generally opposed the use, while 25% supported it, and 19% were unsure.
American Family Field
The same poll last month also asked: "Would you be more likely or less likely to support a stadium subsidy if the tax money came from the state of Wisconsin overall rather than just Milwaukee County, or would it not make a difference?" It found 59% of Milwaukee County would be more likely to support that option, with 10% less likely and 29% saying it would not make a difference.
"To come back to the locals is just wrong. You take money away from police, from fire, from infrastructure, things that we really need in this community," Adams said.
On Thursday, anyone who wants will be able to share their thoughts on the Assembly Republican proposal during a public hearing in Milwaukee County, held at the Wisconsin State Fair Park.
"It's been part of our culture, so to lose that would be devastating to our community, as we believe we are a tier one city. You can’t lose a Major League Baseball team," said the Home Crew Coalition's Omar Shaikh. "Let’s take into consideration the economic impact that this has – $2.5 billion of economic impact that the Brewers have brought our community. Thousands of people who have been hired. You know, a lot of employees, lots of things happening and that trickles down to families, too, and the survival of these business, as well."
"Of course, we want to see the Brewers stay," countered Adams. "What we have showed is that voters didn’t want to sink more tax dollars into the Brewers stadium, at all."
"Without them, it’d be a huge hole in our community," said Shaikh.
The Brewers original lease, which runs through 2030, requires the governmental body that owns the majority of the ballpark pay for repairs and capital improvements. That baseball park district board doesn't have the money the Brewers estimate it would take to make those investments, some $428m.
In exchange for the $600m investment of public money, the GOP plan would require the Brewers extend their lease through 2050.