Wisconsin Economic Development Association

PEOPLE JOBS PROFITS 10 E. Doty, St Suite 500 Madison, WI 53703

608-255-5666www.weda.org

Bucks Arena Funding Model

Position Statement

The Wisconsin Economic Development Association (WEDA), consisting of over 400 economic

development professionals across Wisconsin, is encouraged by Governor Walkers use of a Pay Their

Way proposal as a mechanism to generate economic growth. Under this proposed funding model, a

Sports and Entertainment District will be created to provide bonding authority to pay back a $220

million grant for a new sports arena. The growth in income tax revenue from the Bucks, as well as

visiting teams, from player and staff pay increases, and TV contracts will be used to pay back the $220

million grant.

WEDA believes that this model is innovative and can be easily adapted for other industry sector

growth. For instance, in the past, WEDA proposed developing a Workforce Training Account which

similar to the Pay Their Way proposal, involves segregating a portion of existing and/or new

employee withholding taxes into a special account to fund workforce-training activities. This model is

also useful in research and development activities, as demonstrated by the Ohio Third Frontier1

program. WEDA encourages the legislature to consider the various uses and benefits of this type of

funding model to support economic development throughout Wisconsin.

1 Ohio Third Frontier http://development.ohio.gov/bs_thirdfrontier/