(Beaver Dam) Representative Mark Born is not opposed to the state supporting renovations to the Milwaukee Brewers stadium, but noted that it should come from money collected from players. American Family Field, which first opened as Miller Park in 2001, is in need of more than $400-million in updates over the next 20 years.
The stadium is owned by the state and the Brewers organization is a tenant with lease that expires in 2030. Born says Wisconsin legislatures want the Major League Baseball team to re-up for another 30-year lease because having the team in Milwaukee is a significant revenue source.
“The players when they play there…even from the opposing team…they pay state income tax…so we collect state income tax off the Brewer players salaries but also the visiting players’ salaries…and that’s about $14-million-dollars a year that we collect just on players’ salaries,” says Born. “So, if the Brewers leave, that’s money…that’s state revenue that the state loses that we use to pay…for education. It’s part of the state general fund.”
The Beaver Dam Republican notes that amount does not include sales tax dollars collected at the stadium which totals around $15-million a year.
A few of the needed upgrades include a new scoreboard and restrooms. The governor has proposed $290-million-dollars in state funding in exchange for the Brewers extending their lease to 2043. Born says the cost to upgrade the facility should not be a tax payers burden, but instead should be paid for by the revenue generated from the players.
“Let’s make the players pay for this with the income tax that we collect off of them…so, we’re setting up a plan to have the Brewers sign a 30-year lease and then over that 30 years use a portion of that $14-million that we’re collecting off those income taxes from the players to build the fund to pay for the upkeep that’s needed for the stadium,” says Born. “I understand folks hesitance about it…’why would we do this?’ There’s a benefit to having a Major League Baseball team here…both in tax revenue as well as benefits for the community.”
Born says keeping that revenue in Wisconsin is a “no-brainer.”
