A new plan to keep the Brewers in Milwaukee in a new
ballpark was announced Saturday and was met with "seemingly good
prospects for success," according to the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL
SENTINEL. The plan still needs various approvals, including a
30-year stadium lease and an agreement for the Brewers not to
leave. Construction could begin by September 1 (Kenneth Lamke,
MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 6/30).
DETAILS: Of the $250M overall cost, $160M will come from
the planned five-county 0.1 cent sales tax levied by the stadium
board. The other $90M breaks down into two components of $50M
and $40M. Of the $50M: $15M will be borrowed by the city and
lent to the Brewers; $14M will be in business community loans to
the team; the team will borrow $29M -- $21M less than originally
planned, and on "more favorable" terms (the team will face annual
debt payments of $2.2-3M, compared with $5-6M under the original
plan); the remaining part will come in the form of low-interest
loans from two charitable foundations -- $20M from the Bradley
Foundation and $1M from the Helfeaur Foundation (that money will
be lent to the Board directly and not the team, but if the
foundation loans "ever have to be paid back," it would come from
rent payments). Of the $40M: there is a "new element" of the
A.L. shifting $10M in loan guarantees to a letter of credit --
"in effect a loan." That "appeared to be a concession on the
part of Selig." The remaining two parts of the $40M are naming
rights paid by Miller Brewing and $10M from concessionaires.
Board Dir Robert Trunzo said "not all of the" $10M from the A.L.
might be needed if naming rights and concession revenue are
"higher than expected" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 6/30). The
park would be co-owned by the District and team. Rent will be
$1.1M a year, and the District will make a yearly payment to the
team to cover maintenance expenses of up to $3.85M (Gilbert &
Rinard, MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 6/30).
THERE'S MORE: Selig: "We wouldn't have agreed to it if we
weren't satisfied with it." He said he was confident MLB
officials would approve the deal (Tom Haudricourt, MILWAUKEE
JOURNAL SENTINEL, 6/30). The Brewers' main lender, NationsBank,
will have to give up its lien on the team's future revenue from
naming rights and concession contracts so money could go into the
project. Brewers General Counsel Wendy Selig Prieb said she was
"confident" NationsBank would agree (Gilbert & Rinard, MILWAUKEE
JOURNAL SENTINEL, 6/30).
