The Packers "officially took the wraps off" their $295M
Lambeau Field renovation plan during a statewide telecast,
half-hour news conference Saturday, according to Don Walker
of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, who wrote the expansion
plans will increase seating capacity from 60,980 to 71,000,
expand the main concourse, add a second concourse, boost the
number of restrooms and concession stands, fix up luxury
suites, add club seats and move the Packer Hall of Fame.
Packers President Bob Harlan: "We want this to be the No. 1
destination in the state of Wisconsin. We're going to build
a stadium that the rest of the [NFL] wished it had." Walker
wrote the money to pay for the expansion plans "all would
come through a mixture of public and private funds." A
total of $92.5M would be raised through a "onetime user fee
on season-ticket holders," in which Green Bay-area season
ticketholders would pay $1,400 per seat while Milwaukee-area
season ticketholders would pay $600 per seat. In addition,
the team "expects to use" $20.4M from the proceeds of its
stock sale and "expects to receive" a $13M loan from the
NFL. Walker reports $160M would be raised through a 0.5%
Brown County sales tax, "subject to a biding referendum in
Brown County at an undetermined date," while an added $9.1M
"would be funded by the state for infrastructure costs."
The Packers "will be responsible for any cost overruns"
(MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 1/23).
PLANNING THEIR NEXT MOVES: In a separate piece, Don
Walker writes that the Packers "will take their Lambeau
Field renovation plan on the road" today and "barnstorm
three cities" to keep the team and the stadium plan "in the
news and in residents' minds." Harlan and Packers Senior
VP/Administration John Jones "will appear in news
conferences" today and will meet with the editorial boards
of newspapers in Wausau, La Crosse and Madison. Walker
writes that former Packers players "are also expected to
start showing up" in WI, "spreading the gospel in an effort
to persuade residents that the team deserves public support"
for the renovations (MIL. JOURNAL SENTINEL, 1/24).
GENERAL SUPPORT: In Green Bay, John Dipko wrote that
"most Brown County supervisors reached Friday" said that
they would "support allowing residents to vote in a
referendum" on the 0.5% stadium sales tax. But the
supervisors "quickly pointed out" that the Packers "have
quite a selling job ahead of them." Brown County Chair
Timothy Hinkfuss: "I think it's going to be a tough sell"
(GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 1/22). But Andy Nelesen wrote the
one-time fee for season ticketholders "is a tough pill to
swallow for some fans." Packers season ticketholder John
Beckman: "With the licensing fee at this point, I am not
going to renew my season tickets" (PRESS-GAZETTE, 1/22).
AROUND THE AREA: Green Bay Mayor Paul Jadin said that
he "expects the city will not own a renovated Lambeau Field,
but he wants the city to get something in return if it
forfeits that ownership." Jadin: "Clearly the city will not
have ownership of the stadium" (GB PRESS-GAZETTE, 1/23).
