I don’t support any state taxpayer support for a Bucks arena.
State help to build a new Bucks arena in Milwaukee “will not happen” without a financial commitment from local government, Joint Finance Committee Co-Chair Rep. John Nygren said at a WisPolitics.com luncheon in Madison Thursday.
Nygren, R-Marinette, said he was expecting the state’s offer to be around $100 million instead of the $220 million Walker proposed in his budget. He also said he would like to see the city and county step in with offers and for Bucks ownership to kick in more.
“If there is no local commitment, it will not happen,” Nygren said.
JFC Vice-Chair Sen. Luther Olsen, who joined Nygren on today’s panel, expressed similar sentiments, saying it’s a “hard sell” in his caucus for the state to contribute without local governments doing so.
“Right now I don’t see Milwaukee County or the city of Milwaukee putting any money on the table,” Olsen, R-Ripon, said.
He added that without a local commitment, “I just don’t see how there is any support for it at all.”
Let the Bucks go.
Pro basketball is uninteresting, borderline boring.
Free the Deer!
Seriously, given the arena property is almost certain to be exempt from property taxes, there is no way for there to be local government support without sticking it to the local taxpayers.