The Milwaukee Common Council approved, by a 12-3 vote, the city’s contribution to the building of a new arena Downtown for the Milwaukee Bucks, the final thumbs up required for the project to move forward.
The council dealt with three sticking points before approving the measure.
One was the issue of closing of 4th Street to create a public plaza adjacent to the new arena. Closing the street had been opposed by Downtown Ald. Robert Bauman. But a compromise was reached that would allow the city to reopen the street if the Bucks did not successfully operate the public plaza.
The council also approved amendments that would provide for 40 percent of the workforce building the arena to be drawn from unemployed members of the labor force. In the case there were not enough workers to fill the jobs, both the Bucks and city would study how to provide training for those workers.
The final amendment required that the city and the Bucks split, 50-50, any funds generated by the naming rights of the parking structure the city will build.
Details of the deal can be seen in the term sheet, which you can download here.
The entire contribution by the city to the billion-dollar project is expected to be $47 million. Plans for the design and building for the arena are expected to be provided for the city review process in late fall.
With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.
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