Wisconsin Gov. Evers approves half-billion dollar Brewers stadium overhaul

• Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday signed off on legislation allowing taxpayer funds to be directed toward repairs to American Family Field in Milwaukee.
• The stadium, home to the Milwaukee Brewers, will be renovated over the next three decades with the half-billion dollar fund.
• “All in all, this plan ensures the Milwaukee Brewers will continue to call this city home for nearly 30 more years,” Evers said Tuesday before signing the proposal into law.

After months of backroom wrangling, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed a bill Tuesday that spends half-a-billion dollars in taxpayer money over the next three decades to help the Milwaukee Brewers repair their baseball stadium.

The governor signed the bipartisan package at American Family Field, calling the legislation a compromise agreement between the team and the public.

“All in all, this plan ensures the Milwaukee Brewers will continue to call this city home for nearly 30 more years,” Evers said before signing the legislation on a stage set up at home plate. The stadium’s lights flashed as he lifted his pen from the papers.

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The Brewers’ principal owner, Mark Attanasio and former Major League Baseball commissioner and former Brewers owner Bud Selig appeared alongside Evers. Attanasio called the signing “a special day” as he thanked legislators, Brewers employees and the public for helping him deliver what he called the best fan experience possible at the stadium. Selig said nothing but nodded as Attanasio introduced him as his mentor.

The Brewers say the 22-year-old stadium needs extensive renovation. The stadium’s glass outfield doors, seats and concourses need replacing, the stadium’s luxury suites and video scoreboard need upgrades and the stadium’s signature retractable roof, fire suppression systems, parking lots, elevators and escalators need work, according to the team.

Brewers officials warned lawmakers the team might leave Milwaukee without public assistance. Spurred by the threat of losing tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue, legislators unveiled a subsidy package in September.

Debates over handing public dollars to professional sports teams are always divisive. Attanasio is worth an estimated $700 million, according to Yahoo Finance, and the team itself is valued at around $1.6 billion, according to Forbes.

Critics, including a number of Milwaukee-area legislators, insisted the Brewers deserved nothing and…