Hey, check it out, Urban Milwaukee called it!
Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday that legislative consideration of a financing plan for a new arena in downtown Milwaukee will have to wait until other big-ticket issues such as K-12 school funding and cuts to the University of Wisconsin System are dealt with first.
Walker’s comments came after a new Legislative Fiscal Bureau report showed there won’t be any additional money from tax collections to ease anticipated budget cuts during the next two years.
“It will take us some time. Right now, as you might imagine, until we resolve some of these other issues, dealing with the schools and any other big adjustments in the budget, I think the Legislature will be reluctant to sign off on any final plan until we know where we’re at in terms of covering public education,” he said.
This isn’t necessarily throwing in the towel on getting a Milwaukee Bucks arena plan through the legislature this year — Walker said he’s still hopeful of getting something done this session, once the rest of the budget is slashed to ribbons — but the state having no money for anything will complicate finding money to hand over to the Bucks owners, “no doubt about that.”
In other words, it’s highly likely that everyone will agree to meet back here next year, or rather to keep negotiating behind closed doors for the next year, and then hopefully emerge with a full-blown plan that everyone can live with. (“Everyone” here defined as the Bucks owners and all the elected officials who are needed to approve it; whether the taxpayers who would be kicking back income tax and property tax and a bunch of other stuff to the Bucks can live with it isn’t really their concern.) Which was always the most likely scenario — finding hundreds of millions of public dollars to spend on private basketball arenas is hard! — but it just got even more likely.
Government entities should not be involved in ANY professional sports venues. It needs to stay as a private business function, no tax breaks. The team already makes to much money, and by team I include all staff, and employees (players).
I’m expecting Ben to come through at some point and exclaim that this is clearly an example of supply side economics working successfully, as we have seen that cutting taxes has clearly led to an increase in economic activity and hence taxes. Let the arena building commence!
I’m now curious to see whether the Bucks’ owners make a direct, unveiled move threat. I am going to worry more if they don’t. With the Hawks’ sale price coming in so far below hopes/expectations, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the League simply let the new owners keep the team and move it, as opposed to executing the buyback clause.
Milwaukee obviously can’t afford a new arena and the new owners seem real cheap not wanting to put their own money towards the project…………Seattle is patiently waiting for the Bucks!
The Bucks owners have plenty of money coming from the new TV contract and can surely afford to pay for the new arena…..
Effective with the 2016-2017 season the NBA begins a new 9 year TV contract worth $2.6 billion per year which equals $87 million per team. The current contract pays $31 million per year. So every NBA team will be getting $56 million more per year starting in 2016-2017.
It’s not hard to figure it out. Lasry and Edens have the capital to get this done, but they want to make sure they get as much free money as possible from the city and state.
Posting this because it theoretically affects the Bucks’ future:
Seattle releases final EIS for SoDo arena:
http://buildingconnections.seattle.gov/2015/05/07/seattle-arena-final-environmental-impact-statement-available/
From NBA press 4/8 release: “While the arena and entertainment plaza on 1 million square feet is expected to take 2 years to build, the additional $500 million in a mixed entertainment, residential and commercial development could take more than 10 years to materialize, Bucks officials said. They hope the arena will be an incubator for the additional development, but there are no guarantees, Feigin said.”
The Bucks’ $500M arena plan is unequivocally for “Arena plus Big Bar Complex.” In a state that will provide Zero Funding for state parks, no pol involved in negotiating this deal has questioned why taxpayers must build both an arena and a free-standing “entertainment plaza” with three floors of bars, et al.
Walker may be slowing down the process, but only one MKE alderman (not involved in any deal making) has questioned A) why a budget-busted state must fund the Bucks new playground or B) why a second, completely unneeded nightlife complex also must be built/maintained by taxpayers. It’s like the old Doublemint chewing-gum ad: TWO MONEY PITS IN ONE!
Scott Walker: “Arena funding plan needs to take back seat for now”.
Translation: “They didn’t finish the deal yet so I won’t be able to sign it and take credit for it”.
Here’s a plan – the Bucks pay 100% of the cost for the new arena. Case closed.
This Walker is a dream candidate. He wants to wait to fork over billions to millionaires for a palace for millionaires until he can find out how much to cut from the University system. Nice.
scott: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlMwc1c0HRQ
Slash public school funding… our billionaires aren’t rich enough!