GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The Packers have issued the City of Green Bay a new offer to extend the lease for Lambeau Field after a week of public back-and-forth between the two sides.
The team issued a statement about the new offer less than two hours after Green Bay’s city council held a news conference outlining its stance on the lease negotiations.
The Packers report the new offer includes an annual increase in rent payments from the Packers to the city that is part of the current Lambeau Field lease. Previous offers from the team kept rent payments flat, which city officials have characterized as a “non-starter.”
Here is the Packers statement, which the team says is “in response to the press conference” on Wednesday:
The Packers were pleased to see the Common Council express having the interest of taxpayers in mind as they discussed the extension of the Lambeau Field lease, as the taxpayers are precisely whom the Packers have considered through their proposals that, unlike virtually all other recent stadium deals, did not request taxpayer funding.
Much of what they said about negotiations was mischaracterized, but that is because they were not involved in the negotiations and, unfortunately, have been misinformed.
The Packers present a new offer, arguably the most taxpayer-friendly in all of sports, that states:
1)The Packers will invest $1.5 billion into Lambeau Field.
2)Taxpayers will have no obligation in that investment.
3)The extended lease includes the current rent escalator, as the City requested, and extends 30 years. All other terms of the current lease will remain the same, as it has worked well since its inception in 2001.
This process has become untenable, as the Packers have already invested four years in discussions and submitted three proposals without receiving a single counter proposal. If this extension as proposed is unacceptable, the Packers will not engage in further discussions.”
The Packers’ new offer does not include city requests for a city benefits statement and investment in city economic development.
FOX 11 asked City Council President Brian Johnson about the new offer.
“It will start with review by the Mayor and our outside counsel. The escalator hasn’t been our only point of discussion. I would expect a new offer to materially address all of the matters that have previously been negotiated by both parties. Any offer that undermines those mutual discussions will be difficult to advance.”
Council members believe the Packers’ previous offers have been insufficient compared to what the two sides talked about before the team made its offers. The council also claims the Packers have been unfairly blaming Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich for the stalled talks.
Genrich was not at the council’s Wednesday press conference. All 12 council members were there, wearing Packers clothes.
“We understand the loyalty to the team,” said Johnson. “We all tailgate on Sundays. I personally took my daughter to her first game this past Sunday. But that’s football and this is business and we need to learn how to separate football from business.”
The current lease for Lambeau Field runs until 2032 and is between the city, the Packers and the Green Bay/Brown County Stadium District. The Packers have options to extend the lease another 10 years, but have said they don’t want to do that.
The Packers currently pay the city annual rent payments that go up 2.75% each year. The Packers’ previous offers have included an extension up to 30 years, but did not include that annual escalator, which city officials argue is about a $30 million difference for city taxpayers.
“$30 million that supports our police, fire, parks and road improvements. Without this crucial funding, we will face the difficult decision of raising taxes to cover the shortfall. I hope we can foster mutual appreciation and respect in the future as our hard working residents and businesses truly deserve it,” said Jennifer Grant, District 1 alderperson.
The Packers maintained previous offers were fair because of the $1.5 billion of team money they would put toward stadium maintenance and upgrades.
“With the escalating costs it takes to keep up a stadium, along with our competitors across the NFL receiving significant public tax money for their stadiums, we feel it’s important to limit the outflow of revenue that comes from the stadium,” said Packers Director of Public Affairs Aaron Popkey.
The Packers have said it’s important to extend the lease now so they can execute that $1.5 billion plan to keep Lambeau Field among the best stadiums in the league. They say the longer this drags on, the more costly it could be and increases the chances of asking taxpayers for money.
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