MLB Rumors: Braves rebrand spurs panic, Mets top target, Brewers moving?
By Mark Powell
MLB Rumors: Could Brewers owners move the team?
Milwaukee Brewers ownership is threatening to move the team based on a lack of movement in American Family Field updates. While the team is tied to the stadium via a lease through 2030, the Brewers are using the prospect of relocation to apply pressure and get those updates passed — with public funds attached — rather quickly.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers proposed a $290 million package full of taxpayer dollars to upgrade the stadium a few months ago. Since then, there’s been little movement on that front by lawmakers. In fact, Evers proposal was virtually scrapped of all potential stadium updates, which Brewers executives were not please with.
“The Brewers genuinely want to stay, it is only a question of whether they’ll be able to with the (stadium) district broke,” a source familiar with negotiations told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the governor’s office stated that the two sides remain in talks for a deal which would include stadium funds.
“We will keep working with both sides of the aisle to find a creative solution to ensure the stadium district can meet its obligations, and sign a generational lease extension at American Family Field,” Ewers said in a statement.
In the initial proposal, stadium funds would help the Brewers make their improvements to American Family Field, and in return the new lease would run through 2043.
It’s unclear exactly how serious Milwaukee is about leaving the city and its fans behind, but as we’ve seen with the Oakland Athletics, it is certainly something to keep an eye on. The Brewers are integral to the Milwaukee community, and as unfair as it may be to request public funds for a new or upgraded stadium, it’s sadly the way things are done in modern professional sports here in the states.