Taxpayers to fund half of new $500M Bucks arena

Jun 4, 2015 - 9:27 PM Madison, WI (SportsNetwork.com) - Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker announced a plan Thursday to build a new $500 million arena for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks, half of which will be funded by taxpayers.

The announcement came 14 months after the Bucks were sold and a new arena was promised under the threat of the NBA moving the team to another state.

Walker said the financial impact of the team leaving the state outweighed the cost of a new arena.

"We've considered the financial impacts on the state should the Bucks stay or go, and quite simply, we found it's cheaper to keep them," Walker said in a statement. "Our plan is the result of a state and local, public and private alliance, and it is developed with the goal of ensuring a good return to our state taxpayers."

The plan projects that for every dollar the state invests, Wisconsin taxpayers will get a $3 return through income tax revenue.

Former Bucks owner Herb Kohl sold the team for $550 million in April 2014 to billionaire investors Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry. The deal was contingent on building a new arena by 2017 or risk the NBA buying the team and moving it to another state.

The state estimated a loss of $419 million to state taxpayers over the next 20 years if the Bucks were moved.

Under the plan, state and local governments will fund $250 million of the new arena, with current and former ownership committed to funding the rest.

The total state investment will be capped at $80 million over 20 years while local governments will provide the rest of the money.

The Bucks have played at the Bradley Center since 1988.