Wisconsin state senate reaches deal to help fund Milwaukee Bucks’ new arena

Republicans and Democrats in the state senate had been divided on a proposal from the governor, GOP legislative leaders, Milwaukee County executive Chris Abele and Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett that would put an initial $250 million in public money toward the arena with a payout totaling $400 million over 20 years when accounting for interest.

“Today’s vote is a significant step forward in our collective effort to build a new sports and entertainment district in Wisconsin. We appreciate the bipartisan leadership in Madison for bringing this transformative partnership one step closer to reality,” Bucks team president Peter Feigin said in a statement. “We’re optimistic that this financing package will receive support in the Assembly and look forward to working with state, county and city officials.”

A key sticking point in that proposal was a requirement stating that Milwaukee County “turn over its debt collection program to the state, which has more power to recover unpaid property taxes and traffic fines.” Instead, that provision has been removed in favor of adding an arena ticket surcharge, which the team unsurprisingly didn’t want given that it increases ticket prices and lowers margins, but moves some of the financial responsibility from taxpayers to those who actually attend events at the new facility.

The Bucks had previously threatened to leave Milwaukee if the team didn’t get financing for a new arena -- a tactic that’s going under increased scrutiny as wealthy owners continue demanding taxpayer support. It appears the move worked yet again, however, as the state has acquiesced their demands to use public money on a new building.

Seventeen votes were needed in the state senate to pass the deal, which wasn’t put on the floor until Wednesday while officials secured those votes. Republican leaders said earlier in the week that three or four Democrats would need to vote in favor of the deal for it to pass, and with the concessions made over the past day, they were able to attain that number.

The new surcharge will need to produce roughly $4 million in revenue to replace the money dropped from the old provisions, and Frank Madden of BrewHoop points out that BMO Harris Center already has a $2 surcharge. The result of the move will be higher ticket prices for customers, but at a lower cost to the overall taxpayer base.

Above all else, the deal means that the Bucks will stay in Milwaukee for the foreseeable future, ending any speculation over a possible relocation to Seattle, Las Vegas or another city. The Bucks started playing in Milwaukee as an expansion team in 1968 and opened their current arena in 1988. After 27 years, it’s one of the oldest facilities in the NBA.