Groups to push stadium lottery

0 Comments | Milwaukee Sentinel, Jan 14, 1995 | by JAMES B. NELSON

The Wisconsin Sports Authority, joined by a powerful Milwaukee business group, will lead a statewide campaign to win approval of a sports lottery, the authority chairman said Friday.

"I'm going to work my butt off to get this thing passed," said Craig L. Leipold, Sports Authority chairman.

Such a lottery would require approval by both the State Legislature and the electorate.

The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce also will push for the stadium and the lottery, said Timothy R. Sheehy, the association's president.

Officials will tout a study issued this week that said the economic impact of a new stadium would be $52.6 million a year.

That study also said attendance would increase sharply with a new stadium, with most of the additional fans coming from outside the metro area. A convertible roof proposed for the stadium would end uncertainty from foul weather in early and late season games, making it easier to plan a baseball outing.

Leipold also is a member of the Governor's Milwaukee Stadium Commission, the group that by the end of the month plans to recommend a public financing package for the $197 million stadium sought by the Milwaukee Brewers. A sports lottery is likely to be a prime recommendation of the commission.

Announcements this week helped set the stage for the lottery campaign, one official said.

On Wednesday, Mayor John O. Norquist and County Executive F. Thomas Ament declared their support for the lottery. Thursday, stadium commission chairman Robert A. Kahlor said the lottery is all but certain to be part of the financing package.

Kahlor is chairman and CEO of Journal Communications, parent company of Journal / Sentinel Inc., which publishes the Milwaukee Sentinel and the Milwaukee Journal.

Lottery momentum continued Friday when an aide to Gov. Tommy G. Thompson said the governor will support a sports lottery. Thompson previously declined to endorse the lottery.

Officials disagree over how much money a sports lottery could generate. Sports Authority officials say $15 million a year is possible. James R. Klauser, Thompson's top adviser, and others have said $6 million to $8 million is more likely.

Also undecided is whether all of the proceeds would flow to a stadium project, or whether they would be divided among the stadium and other sports-related projects throughout the state.

At the stadium commission meeting, the Milwaukee Brewers made a long-awaited announcement that they would commit $60 million to $90 million to the project over 20 years.

Leipold said the authority plans to raise $250,000 to $280,000 to conduct the stadium lottery campaign, and is tapping business and community groups for contributions. Leipold is chairman and CEO of Rainfair Inc., Racine.

The Sports Authority is a non- profit organization formed in 1990 to attract national and regional sporting events to Wisconsin. The authority last summer aggressively pushed the State Legislature for initial approval of the sports lottery.