The top Republican in the state Assembly expects to see changes to Governor Scott Walker’s proposal to help fund a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks.
The governor’s budget calls for using about $220 million in bonding to help finance the arena, which the NBA says is needed to keep the Bucks in Wisconsin’s largest city. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) told the Wisconsin Counties Association on Wednesday that the proposal has “zero” chance of passing as written, but an “80 percent” chance of getting through the Legislature in some form.
Vos told reporters his concerns about the project stem from a lack of discussions with Milwaukee officials about what they are going to do to keep the Bucks in the city. Vos said that he wants to see the team stay, and it makes sense to use some portion of the revenue from team salaries to help make a new arena possible. However, he added that “it shouldn’t entirely be a state cost, just like it wasn’t in Brown County or with the Brewers.”
Vos said where the arena will be built also still needs to be addressed.
The arena funding issue will be among many areas of the state budget lawmakers will examine in the coming weeks.