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Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

No.

The Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District (64%) and the Milwaukee Brewers (36%) own American Family Field.

A 1995 state law created the district, composed of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Washington and Waukesha counties. It is “separate, distinct and independent from the state,” according to the district’s website.

The district’s board enacted a 0.1% sales tax for the five counties, effective in January 1996, to fund construction of the stadium, first known as Miller Park, which opened in 2001.

The tax, in place through March 2020, raised $609 million.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Aug. 11, 2023, that the Brewers could start looking for a new home this fall if state and local officials fail to reach agreement by then on a taxpayer-funded package to fund improvements to the stadium.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in February proposed spending $290 million for long-term stadium improvements. That was rejected by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. Republicans hold a majority in the Assembly and the Senate.

This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District Financial Statements | December 31, 2022

Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District Summary Of The Stadium District

Wisconsin Watch Do the Milwaukee Brewers pay for some of the maintenance and improvements at their home stadium?

Wisconsin Watch Milwaukee Brewers’ stadium: How much have taxpayers paid?

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Tom Kertscher joined as a Wisconsin Watch fact checker in January 2023 and contributes to our collaboration with the The Gigafact Project to fight misinformation online. Kertscher is a former longtime newspaper reporter, including at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who has worked as a self-employed journalist since 2019. His gigs include contributing writer for PolitiFact and sports freelancer for The Associated Press.