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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.

Wisconsin taxes won’t increase to pay for improvements to American Family Field, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, under newly approved legislation.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said Nov. 14, 2023, he would sign the stadium legislation, the day it was approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature.

The legislation is expected to keep the baseball team in Milwaukee through 2050.

Wisconsin income taxes paid by Brewers players and visiting team players are estimated at $630.5 million during that period and would more than cover the state contribution.

These would be the contributions under the bill:

State: $386.5 million (minus $20.7 million from a new ticket surcharge for non-baseball events at the park)

Brewers: $110 million

City of Milwaukee: $67.5 million

Milwaukee County: $67.5 million

The Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District (64%) and the Brewers (36%) own the stadium. A five-county district sales tax financed the stadium construction.

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

Sources

Wisconsin State Legislature: Senate Changes to Assembly Bills 438 and 439, as Passed by the Joint Committee on Finance

AP News: Wisconsin state Senate approves downsized Milwaukee Brewers stadium repair bill

Wisconsin Watch: Do visiting professional baseball players pay Wisconsin income taxes on the money they earn playing at the Milwaukee Brewers’ stadium?

Google Docs: MLB-Related Individual Income and Sales Tax Revenues

WisPolitics: Senate passes Brewers bills on bipartisan vote, Assembly agrees to changes

Wisconsin Watch: Does Wisconsin own the stadium where the Milwaukee Brewers play?

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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 Milwaukee Magazine and sports freelancer for The Associated Press.