NBA NEWS

State Assembly approves Milwaukee arena bill

The Sports Xchange

July 28, 2015 at 2:38 pm.

The Milwaukee Bucks are closer to a new arena after the Wisconsin State Assembly passed a bill Tuesday to allow for $250 million in taxpayer funding for the project.

After a 52-34 vote, the bill moves to Gov. Scott Walker for approval. Walker has been working with lawmakers to secure a deal that calls for the Bucks to contribute at least $250 million toward the arena.

Once Walker signs off on the bill, the next steps would be for the county to authorize buying the land and a city vote to negotiate the lease and to approve financing.

Bucks coach Jason Kidd was on hand in the Assembly gallery watching the debate.

The NBA had said it would buy the Bucks and move the team if a new arena were not in place by October 2017. The lease at BMO Harris Bradley Center ends in 2017.

“Today, our collective effort to create a world-class sports and entertainment district in the heart of Milwaukee took a monumental step forward thanks to the bipartisan leadership of elected officials in Madison,” Bucks president Peter Feigin said in a statement. “We’re incredibly grateful for the commitment of state, county and city officials to work together in a historic fashion to help shape this public-private partnership. There’s still work to be done and we look forward to building on this progress with the city and county, but the passage of legislation today makes our future much clearer.

“The Bucks will not only remain home in Wisconsin, but we’ll soon begin a transformative economic development project that will help revitalize our community and region.”

The new arena would replace the 27-year-old BMO Harris Bradley Center as part of an estimated $1 billion development in downtown Milwaukee.

Bucks owners Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens bought the team in April 2014 from former U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl for $550 million. The new owners committed $150 million to funding the new arena, and Kohl has pledged $100 million.

Seattle and Las Vegas were considered the top relocation options for the Bucks.

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