Breaking news from the Milwaukee Common Council downtown as the Milwaukee sports and entertainment arena financing for the city has been approved by a vote of 12-3 this morning. The Council approved the $47 million financing plan for the city.
This means that all levels of financing have been approved by the state, county, and city levels! A few political issues could still come up, but with all financing approved, the arena is set to start construction in November with action being made as soon as October. The arena is expected to be ready in time for the 2017 season, although some believe it won’t be ready until 2018.
The Milwaukee Bucks’ President Peter Feign released the following statement on the passage of the arena financing proposal:
“Today is a truly historic day for Milwaukee and Wisconsin, and the culmination of months of hard work from an incredible coalition passionate about our community’s future. Thanks to the support of Sen. Kohl, Mayor Barrett and the Common Council, and other elected officials in both Milwaukee and Madison, this transformative public-private partnership is now a reality. Now it’s time to get to work creating jobs and building a better Milwaukee – not just for the Bucks, but for all citizens of this great state.”
The Milwaukee Bucks ownership also released this statement later in the afternoon:
Bucks Fans,
Today marked a tremendous milestone in our endeavor to build a world-class sports and entertainment district in Milwaukee, as the city’s Common Council voted overwhelming in support of this public-private partnership. With financing approval in place, the real work begins. Very soon we’ll be able to get shovels in the ground and get to work transforming this city. We couldn’t be more excited.
As we’ve said from the very beginning, our vision has been much bigger than just building a new arena. We want to build a better Milwaukee. Thanks to the support of Senator Kohl, the leadership of elected officials in Madison and Milwaukee, and the thunderous support of members of the community and Bucks fans like you, we’re going to make that vision a reality. We’re going to create jobs, we’re going to create an amazing urban community to help revitalize and connect the city, and we’re going to keep the Bucks home in Wisconsin.
As we gear up for the start of another season, we couldn’t be more excited about the direction this team is headed on and off the court. We want to see you all there when we break ground on our new building in November, and we can’t wait to see a packed arena for Opening night just five weeks from now.
Go Bucks!
Marc, Wes and Jamie
Echoing those letters, thank you to Paul Henning, Ted Davis, SaveOurBucks.com, Senator Herb Kohl, the Milwaukee Bucks, and more for their efforts to getting this arena 100% approved!
Now, let’s play some basketball.
Suggested read from Rich Kirchen on today’s historical day.