Governor Evers Proposes $290M for AmFam Field Repairs in State Budget

In what is certain to be a hotly contested item within the tumultuous world of Wisconsin state politics, 2nd-term Governor Tony Evers is proposing to use a relatively small chunk of the massive $7B+ projected state surplus to help fund necessary (and contractually obligated) renovations of American Family Field.  The original public mechanism to help fund the construction and maintenance of the ballpark was a 0.1% 5-county sales tax, but that sunset in 2020 despite warnings from the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball District (the overseeing entity of the ballpark) that it would not leave enough money in the coffers to fund major repairs coming down the pike.  Sure enough, the bill is coming due, with a massive shortfall in the ballpark maintenance fund to pay for the estimated $400M project.  The Brewers now need an influx of cash from somewhere to help replace and repair major components to the ballpark that are coming to the end of their functional life, most notably the one-of-a-kind retractable roof and retractable outfield panels.  If the state budget were to pass with this $290M funding line item, it would be tied to the Brewers being required to extend their lease to 2043.

There are a lot of interesting moving parts to this situation.  Some parts to this are related to politics and some to baseball, but as with any publicly financed sports facility, often it is a gray area where the two sides meet.  There's obviously the money side of things, as in why should taxpayers be on the hook yet again to help fund a stadium that was already paid for by us once and whose tenant is owned by a multi-millionaire?  Why should the state be providing a public subsidy when the district (landlord) is responsible for the repairs?  On the other hand, this does not require any new taxes, and this proposal entirely uses surplus funds that are largely resultant from unused pandemic-era federal funds.  It's also not the same political climate as it was in the 1990s when the tenth-percent sales tax was passed.  That tax was proposed by a Republican governor with bi-partisan support, but even that was not without its problems as it cost a couple of state senators their careers.  Here we are in 2023 in one of the most divisive political times we have ever seen, and it will be a challenge to say the least to get anybody to agree on this, if only out of spite and pride of party.  On the baseball side of things, it brings to light a grim reality that it is far from a sure thing the Brewers will be in Milwaukee for my entire lifetime.  Even if this budget gets passed, eventually this roof is just going to have so many problems and obsolete parts that it will become like Olympic Stadium in Montreal - the roof will have to stay permanently closed and at some point it will become far cheaper to just start over with a new ballpark.  Or worse yet, finding a more lucrative handout from another city after the lease is up might become the team's best option if the city's financial situation does not improve, or if Mark Attanasio's family sells the team someday.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out, but the fact remains that the repairs are necessary, and the money needs to come from somewhere.

22 days until Opening Day and Home Opener tickets are purchased!

UPDATE:  A few hours after this post went live, Speaker of the State Assembly Robin Vos (R) announced that Evers' proposal to include Brewers stadium funding in his biennial budget was "dead."