Governor Walker’s Support Plan for the Milwaukee Bucks Arena
By: Aaron Jakel
The future of the Milwaukee Bucks is much more secure than ever, due to Governor Walker’s new “Pay Their Way” proposal. Walker proposed to help raise 220 million dollars that will specifically go to the building of a new stadium. Previous contributions to the new arena were made by former Bucks owner and former Wisconsin Senator, Herb Kohl, with a donation of 100 million dollars and l50 million dollars have been donated from the new Bucks owners, Wes Edens, Marc Lasry, and Jamie Dinan. There is also going to be 50 million dollars coming from the city of Milwaukee.
It was estimated that a new stadium would cost between 400-500 million. Now with the addition of the 220 million dollar budget plan from Walker, the total amount of money raised thus far is 520 million; making the renovation much more realistic. However as of only a year ago things weren’t looking as bright for the Bucks. The team had only won 15 games in the entire 2013-2014 season and were threatened to be bought out by the NBA if the team did not begin construction of a new arena by 2017. This would have been a great loss to Milwaukee due to the revenue it brings to the city (there would be an estimated 10 million dollars lost in income tax if the Bucks left) and also to the NBA since it would be losing one of its most historic franchises. Because of this, this is why I feel this is why such a great amount of effort has gone into the raising of money for the new stadium.
A lot of concern was brought upon many Wisconsin citizens when Governor Walker made the announcement, since it was reasonable to think that a trade off would be to pay extra tax dollars. However Walker has stated in his announcement on January 27 that "There's absolute security for the taxpayers. No new taxes, no drawing on existing revenues, no exposure to the future..." The way Walker plans on paying for the stadium is to take taxes over $6.5 million from the salaries of the Bucks and visiting NBA players that would go back to the state's general fund. Walker stated that this figure is expected to grow since there will be a projected growth in player salaries and NBA TV contracts. As a result the bond is expected to be paid off by 2046. Walker commented on the payment plan where he stated "I think it's arguably the most fiscally conservative idea in the country for a professional sports team. We're having them pay their own way. It's not coming out of revenues from anywhere else. It's not coming from new taxes. It's keeping the foundation we have today."
Something also to keep in mind is how much money a new stadium would bring in for the city of Milwaukee. Tickets sales would skyrocket, tourism would increase along with merchandise sales, resulting in a great return on their investment. Due to this I feel that the marginal benefit would outweigh the marginal cost.
As of now the future is looking bright for the Milwaukee Bucks. As the NBA begins to shift into the second half of the season the Milwaukee Bucks are now 32-27 and ranked sixth in the eastern conference. Considering the previous year where they only had 15 wins total, this is a drastic improvement. New ownership and head coach, Jason Kidd, have sparked the success of the Bucks this season. Now with new additions of young and talented players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Michael Carter Williams, and Jabari Parker, a new stadium now seems more than necessary in my opinion to keep the excitement building and the future bright for the Milwaukee Bucks.
What are your thoughts on the new stadium?
Works Cited
Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein |. "Arena Construction Key to Owner deal." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Web. 3 Mar. 2015. <http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10818521/nba-buy-milwaukee-bucks-no-arena-construction-2017>.
Press, Associated. "Wisc. Would Help Fund Bucks arena." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Web. 3 Mar. 2015. <http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12236514/plan-help-fund-milwaukee-bucks-new-arena-proposed-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker>.
"Walker Proposes Investment of $220 Million for Arena." Walker Proposes Investment of $220 Million for Bucks Arena. 2 Mar. 2015. Web. 3 Mar. 2015. <http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/walker-jock-tax-will-cover-220-million-for-new-bucks-arena-b99433734z1-289935421.html>.
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Initially I was concerned that funding a project like this stadium would cause a massive increase in taxes, however after reading this blog I realize that the pay their way plan would have no major downfalls. The Stadium would bring in a lot of revenue and there would be no increase in taxes.
ReplyDeleteI think Scott Walkers plan sounds good but hes forgetting what gets fans to go to the games ,a winning team. We should put that $220 million dollars into are players to insure a winning season. The statement we have now is good enough to hold a max capacity of 18,000 people. we have trouble getting fans to go to the games, we practically give away tickets and still don't have a full stadium.
ReplyDeleteI like how you talked about where the new stadium is going to be built and how much money it is going to cost. You talked about the trade offs and how the trade off would affect the people in the city. The trade off in the city would be that the citizens of Milwaukee would have to pay a little bit more in taxes. But then you talked about how Governor Walker said there would be no new taxes and this was kind of confusing. I think the video that was linked at the bottom was a good connection.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Max, I think that a winning team would draw more fans than a new stadium. A stadium will bring more fans temporarily, but an exciting team/franchise can bring new devoted fans to the currently near empty arena. If the Bucks invested in a better team, with exciting players, the amount of tickets sold would increase drastically. However, the purchase of expensive players is also temporary as their contract would eventually end or they would become too expensive for the team. To be a long lasting, and more importantly a high revenue earning team, the Bucks need to create a way to get more fans that are devoted to the Bucks; a new stadium will only attract fans for a year or so and once everyone has seen it, the stadium's popularity, and thus the Bucks popularity and earnings will fall.
ReplyDeleteAaron, I think the future is extremely bright for both the Milwaukee Bucks and the entire Milwaukee community. The new stadium will be a wonderful improvement to the tourism in the city, as numerous NBA fans, as well as other general tourists, will flock to the city in order to get a glimpse of the stadium’s splendor. Taxes will increase for the NBA players, which will decrease immediate spending for NBA players. Great post, Aaron.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Bucks should invest in a better team, better players would bring more people to watch the bucks, bringing in a higher revenue and then build the new stadium from there. The new stadium has to be built one way or another but if we just give them a new stadium and they still don't do good it's basically just a waste of money.
ReplyDeleteI think this new stadium will be very good for Milwaukee. The stadium would not just be used for basketball, but for other events too. Concerts, conventions, competitions, and other performances could be held in the building. This will allow the arena to sell food and other services at events other than just basketball games. I think it is important to fund this project, but also to make sure that the money raised and donated is not going to waste.
ReplyDelete