Wisconsin governor proposes plan to help fund Bucks arena

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Wisconsin will help build a new basketball arena for the Milwaukee Bucks with $220 million in bonds that would be funded by projected growth in income taxes from NBA players, Gov. Scott Walker proposed Tuesday.

The Republican governor said his “Pay Their Way” proposal would protect the state’s taxpayers, while keeping the team in Milwaukee. A new arena in downtown Milwaukee could cost about $450 million to $500 million.

New owners bought the team in April and have promised to contribute $150 million toward the new arena. Former owner and ex-U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl has promised $100 million of his own money to help replace the BMO Harris Bradley Center, which was built in 1988.

Under what Walker called a “first-of-its-kind” plan, the more than $6.5 million that’s collected from taxes on the salaries of the Bucks and visiting NBA players would continue to go to the state’s general fund. Walker said that figure is expected to grow due to rising salaries and revenue from the NBA’s TV contracts, so any money above $6.5 million would be used to pay off the bond by 2046.

“We were sincere about trying to be creative and protecting taxpayers and getting the job done,” Walker said at a Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce meeting.

Bucks president Peter Feigin thanked Walker for the plan.

“The governor’s support brings Wisconsin closer to creating a new state-of-the-art venue and entertainment destination that will become an economic catalyst for the entire state,” Feigin said in a statement.

The Bucks could leave in 2017 without a new arena, which would cost the state nearly $10 million per year in income tax collections alone, Walker said.