State sports lottery strike out

The Journal Sentinel staff

A proposed state sports lottery went down to defeat Tuesday, dealing a heavy blow to prospects for a new stadium for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Outstate voters said "no" by a large margin. The sports lottery led modestly in Milwaukee and a few other counties, but trailed everywhere else, even in parts of the Brewers' "backyard," such as Kenosha County. Overall, the vote was 62% "no," 38% "yes" with 72% of the precincts reporting.

A "yes" vote would have been a big boost to the Brewers' dream of a new convertible-roof stadium. Supporters hoped a sports lottery could generate as much as $10 million a year in profits, with the vast bulk of it going toward a new Brewers ballpark.

But a "no" vote is a major setback to the project. Of all the ways to funnel public funds into a stadium, the lottery has been viewed as a far easier political sell than raising taxes. And without a sports lottery, on paper the funding gap facing the project grows by millions. The unofficial totals:

State of Wisconsin

This includes 2grid lines for the kicker. Sports lottery referendum "Shall section 24 (6) (a) of article IV of the constitution be amended to permit the state to operate lottery games that have their proceeds dedicated to athletic facilities?" 2,550 of 3,554 precincts reporting

Yes271,085 X No444,850

Despite the defeat, stadium supporters vowed to keep pushing the project.

"I think we've struck out on a key financing provision," said Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, and leader of a coalition of sports and business groups supporting the sports lottery.

"But it's too early to turn the lights out on the Brewers," he said.

Looking at Other Options

Sheehy said a defeat would force stadium supporters to look even harder at alternative funding sources, though they have proved problematic so far.

"There's not only one way to finance a stadium," said Wendy Selig-Prieb, the team's vice president and general counsel.

"Nobody thought it was going to be easy. Nobody took it lightly," she said. "Whether this is more of an anti-gambling type vote, whether it's a resistance generally to changing the constitution, there are a lot of different theories at this point. I quite frankly think it's too early to judge that."

Another likely factor in the outcome was the public's frustration with baseball, stemming from the just-ended strike.

Robert Kahlor, publisher of the Journal Sentinel and head of the Governor's Milwaukee Stadium Commission that urged passage of the sports lottery, said: "I don't consider it as a vote against the Brewers or a vote against keeping major- league baseball in Wisconsin."

Kahlor said, "This was more of a vote against taking away from property tax (credit)." He said there was still strong support for the Brewers in the public and private sector: "We just need to keep looking for an acceptable financing mechanism."

Mayor John O. Norquist said Tuesday that Gov. Tommy Thompson should consider reconvening the stadium commission.

"I believe that a viable package will be put together and we'll get a new stadium. I can't tell you tonight how it's going to happen," he said.

The Brewers say a new ballpark is needed to make the club financially competitive and ensure its economic survival in Milwaukee. In other cities where stadiums have been built in recent years Baltimore, Cleveland, Arlington, Texas team revenues have swiftly doubled.

The Brewers have asked the public to pay for most of the costs of a new park. Estimated price tag for construction: at least $225 million. Stadium planners say financing a construction loan that large will take a dedicated revenue stream of $18 to $22 million a year for 20 years.

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