CHICAGO - The new $500 million arena for the National Basketball Association's Milwaukee Bucks took a step forward when the city approved its contribution toward a $250 million public funding package.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barett and team officials signed agreements on Tuesday cementing the city's commitment to provide $47 million in tax-increment financing assistance to fund public improvements tied to the stadium's development. The signing ceremony followed the Common Council approval of the aid earlier in the day.
The team still must complete negotiations on the arena development and a new lease agreement with the Wisconsin Center District and the Wisconsin Department of Administration and the council must sign off on the arena design, but the financing package is wrapped up.
Team officials have offered conflicting comments on the timing of construction which was originally expected to get underway in force this fall but could be pushed back to the spring.
The city's contribution includes $35 million to develop a parking structure and $12 million to convert existing space into a public plaza. The city's contribution would come from tax-increment financing and some borrowing is expected. The interest for the TIF debt is about $17 million, according to the city comptroller's office.
Comptroller Martin Matson said projections show the TIF district generating sufficient revenue to repay any borrowing.
The public's share of the project cost is $250 million with the remainder coming from the team's current owners and former owner, former Sen. Herb Kohl. Gov. Scott Walker signed legislation that lays out the financing package over the summer.
In addition to the city support, the Wisconsin Center District would borrow about $200 million leveraging future collections of taxes it now collects on hotel rooms, local food and beverages, and car rentals to repay $185 million of convention center debt. The state's capital finance office is reviewing proposals from financial and legal firms who submitted proposal to work on the deal.
Preliminary financing plans assume that $93 million of proceeds would be available from the tax streams which generated $29 million last year. The state will also provide an annual appropriation of $8 million, with half coming from Milwaukee County, which combined could be leveraged to support an estimated $110 million of proceeds.
