MILWAUKEE – The sweeping funding plan for American Family Field, which ensures the Brewers will play baseball in Milwaukee until at least 2050, has been approved by both chambers of the Wisconsin state legislature on Tuesday.
Sens. Tim Carpenter and John Jagler joined Wisconsin’s Afternoon news hours after voting on the bill in the Wisconsin Senate, where it passed by a bipartisan 19-14 vote count.
Carpenter was one of three Milwaukee-area state senators who voted no on the bill, marking the three dissentions from the Democrats.
“I just feel the taxpayers were forced into paying a lot more money than we should have,” Carpenter said.
The bill includes $641 million in funding for repairs and upgrades to the ballpark, $5 million less than the original plan passed by the Assembly. The state will now contribute nearly $30 million less, and the Brewers have kicked in an extra $10 million.
Jagler was a “yes” on the bill, joining ten of his Republican colleagues, but he said it wasn’t an easy choice nor was he a supporter when the bill first arrived from the assembly
“Because I wanted a bigger contribution from the Brewers,” he said. “I also thought, and I still think the whole winterization of AmFam Field is ridiculous. The amount they wanted to put in on that, 20 million dollars, is insane.”
Jagler said the ticket tax for non-Brewers events, which is hoped to generate $14 million from those additional non-sports events made possible, was required for him to vote in favor. It was added to the final version of the bill.
Both Jagler and Carpenter are in favor of an audit of the ballpark district’s finances, but it not occurring prior to the passage of the bill was a non-starter for Carpenter, who is also worried about the Brewers cutting payroll after the bill’s passage.
“Promises can be made but they can also be broken,” he said.
Jagler and Carpenter are both Brewers fans, and Jagler acknowledged that did play a factor in how important this issue was to him
“I know how devastating it would be to lose a sports franchise in my home state under my watch,” Jagler said.
The bill now heads to the desk of Governor Tony Evers, who has said he will sign the bill.
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