Update, Tuesday, July 14 8:10 PM

Mayor Tom Barrett and State Senator Lena Taylor have confirmed that a deal has been reached and the Senate will vote tomorrow on the bill! They would not be voting unless they had the votes to pass this, as Majority Senate Leader Scott Fitzgerald has said in the past. YES!

Update – Tuesday, July 14 7:21 PM

NBA Commissioner made it clear in an interview tonight that the Bucks will hopefully stay in Milwaukee, and they do not plan to move them, especially to Las Vegas.

Update – Tuesday, July 14 5:58 PM

There are many rumors swarming, but we will VERY confident it will pass tomorrow. Reports say that the county debt collection is out of the bill in exchange for the ticket surcharge, the Senate will meet tomorrow (Wednesday) at 11 AM, and if a deal is reached, the bill will pass in the Senate and move to the Assembly.

Click here for WTMJ’s story on the Senate’s meeting tomorrow at 11 AM.

Update – Tuesday, July 14 5:00 PM

We stand by Ade’s report, but Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald’s Communications Director Myranda Tanck says what Ade reported is not confirmed (tweet below).

We also have more details on Milwaukee County’s contribution. Instead of relying on delinquent debt, the ticket surcharge tax would fill the $80 million total ($55 million bond + interest) over 20 years the county was “responsible” for (the state was going to give them debt relief). This is good news for taxpayers, in my opinion, because that debt may not have all been collected and may have been more costly than we think. With a ticket subcharge instead of county debt collection, the plan now looks like it will be public cost of $360 million instead of $440 million in real dollars. The bottom line is they took out the most questionable part of the bill and added certainty with the ticket surcharge tax.

Click here to understand the “real dollars” going into this bill.

Update – Tuesday, July 14 4:36 PM

According to CBS 58’s David Ade, who has been covering the Bucks arena deal, the Wisconsin State Senate will vote tomorrow, with a ticket surcharge being added to the bill and the county debt collection out of the plan, and there will be “at least 17” “YES” votes to pass the deal through the Senate!!!! This is big news as the Senate was seen as the hardest governmental body to get this by. Once it passes the Senate, the Assembly (where it is considered to be easier to pass this bill) will vote on it, then Governor Walker signs off on it before a vote by the Milwaukee City Council would take place. Follow all of the details here, with updates as soon as we get them. WOO!!!

Updates from Tuesday, July 14 3:10 PM

• The Republicans and Democrats have been caucusing at the Capitol in Madison, as Peter Feigin, Bucks president, waits outside, according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jason Stein.
• Earlier today, Miller Coors, We Energies, unions, and more announced their support for the bill. 
• Senator Scott Fitzgerald said  there is talk with Democrats about a third phase of a new downtown Milwaukee convention center, but it will not be in this deal, just part of the politics at hand (WKOW’s Greg Neumann)
• CBS 58’s David had some political updates about the deal as well, with things looking good from the Milwaukee Senators (minus Tim Carpenter):

With Wednesday being the target day for the Senate’s vote, tomorrow is a BIG day. Both parties in the Senate will likely meet to discuss the bill. Also, Alderman Robert J. Bauman will host town hall meeting tomorrow at the Milwaukee Public Library’s Centennial Hall from 6-8 PM. Mayor Tom Barrett will deliver a presentation on the proposal for the new arena. We have 24 hours to make calls, rally support, and make sure the arena bill gets passed. 

Things are looking positive though, as it’s being reported that the Republicans have 14-15 of the required 17 votes for the Senate. That information comes from CBS 58’s David Ade, who also tweeted out that if Sen. Taylor, Sen. Chris Larson, and Sen. Nikiya Harris Dodd vote for the bill, it WILL pass on Wednesday. Sen. Taylor has also tweeted out today that she has exciting news to share tomorrow, so we look forward to hearing that!

Here is their contact information, please call, write, tweet at, email, etc. them rallying your support!

Senator Lena C. Taylor
Telephone: (608) 266-5810
District Phone: (414) 342-7176
Email: Sen.Taylor@legis.wisconsin.gov
Twitter: @SenTaylor