Questions for Peter Wilt v. 6.0 - the Milwaukee Edition

Cattle Baron?

BS poster - Sandwich name is "blah"

PJW - the area is known as the Milwaukee Metro Area.

I'll take "What is the Cattle Baron" for $100, Alex.

I have no idea what the old Suburpia sandwich was, but I did drive by a Suburpia on Bluemound the other day.

Just as I was starting to get very discouraged about this some good (albeit vague) news. I am just waiting for a post on here or an email that it is time to show public support for this.

Peter, can you tell us if the land is in the City of Milwaukee or one of the burbs? Maybe that is too specific, but if it is in Milwaukee has there been any change in the general attitude of the city toward the project?

we have a winner!! i'm assuming we have Sergey Brin and Larry Page to thank as well

The site that we are closing in on is in the city of Milwaukee and closer to downtown than Miller Park.

All for now. If we secure the option on the land, we'll be requesting your assistance disseminating accurate information and showing public support.

peter

I'm trying to remember correctly...and also without scrolling back through the 20 some odd pages. If you secure land...then that will most likely secure you a lead investor??? And then things start rolling a bit faster with MLS??? Or are there some other steps inbetween and/or before that???

Land securement sets off chainreaction of 1) city approvals for zoning and TIF; 2) lead investor commitment 3) developer efforts to secure retail, office and residential users 4) MLS approval. None of the four are slam dunks, but we have done quite a bit of foundation building on all fronts.

peter

Peter:

I think I remember reading somewhere that this would be a developer funded TIF. Is that still the plan or would you be looking for a traditional TIF structure (which I would think would be very politically difficult to obtain)?

Still working this as developer funded TIF, but keepeing options open for other funding mechanisms for parts of the development as well.

peter

Wild conspiracy time. Here is my theory:

Only two areas of land between downtown and Miller Park could support a $300 million development, namely, the casino and the Harley museum. Stollenwork owns some vacant land around 13th that he planned to use for a new Allen Edmunds factory. I am not sure of the size, but I know MU has asked him to donate the land. So, here is my theory.

The ideal location for a soccer stadium and development would be Valley Fields. On the water and right across the street from the Casino, a perfect site if you ask me. Plenty of parking. Hotel potential. The advantages of the site are clear. Now, to get Valley Fields , a new location for MU's facilites would be necessary. Stollenwork's land fits the bill. Let go one step further. Members of the soccer ownership group have both publicly and privately expressed a long term desire for Marquette to reinstate football. Rumor has it that at least one of the soccer ownership group was part of another group that met with one of the good Fathers at MU a few years ago and made a substantial financial offer to the University to reinstate football. However, the lack of a stadium was an immediate deal killer.

Now, tying everything together, your group buys Valley Fields and puts together a development for the site that includes a stadium. MU rebuilds its track facilities at Stollenwork's valley site. MU reinstates football and starts playing at its new, vitually on campus, stadium. Everyone wins, including soccer fans, MU and its alums, as well as, the city.

Where do I buy my season MLS soccer and MU football tickets?

MLS will never let them build a stadium that could be used for a football team. Plus, there is no way Marquette will bring back football. Lastly, there is a ton of land that could be developed in the area that Peter has suggested.

If I am correct, at least 6 of the 12 MLS teams share their stadiums with football teams, including Houston which just moved into Robertson Stadium on the University of Houston's campus. I don't think the MLS opposed the move. As long as the MLS team is the primary tenant, I doubt that the league would care if the team earned a few extra bucks renting out the stadium after the MLS season ended. For example, the Columbus Crew stadium is rented out for high school football games and NFL exhibitions.

As for MU bringing back football, maybe. But did you know that there were plans to bring non-scholarship football back in the mid-90's? The plans were shelved when Fr. DiUlio, MU's President, was fired. My source: Bill Cords, MU's athletic director.

True, there is lots of land. However, much of it is covered by railroad tracks. Further, to generate a $300 million development, it either has to be or be next to a destination. Otherwise, you are looking at probable failure. City approval would not be forthcoming.

Out of necessity, not by choice. They're not going to let you do that going forward. Robertson isn't a long-term solution, and any stadium that would be suitable for an NFL team (or even a D-1 college team, most likely) is going to be too big for MLS and isn't going to be what the league needs. If, as some believe, we're getting to the point where you have to make an attractive presentation and bring something to the table to get a team instead of Cleveland or St.Louis or someplace like that, saying "We're going to have a stadium, but they'll play football there a lot, too" isn't going to help your cause.

NFL scrimmages. Not NFL exhibitions. NFL scrimmages and college spring games.

And I don't think the NFL's going to allow one of its teams to be anything but the primary tenant.

BTW, the Crew Stadium field looked worse Wednesday night than I've ever seen it. It may have been one of the worst-looking MLS fields I've ever seen.

That's the best news I've heard in a long, long time.

I have a question for Peter Wilt. Mr. Wilt, how many beers did you have in you when you came into section 207 last night and fired off five sentences about the number 13? Just kidding, congradulations on the induction, you seem universally loved in Chi, and deserve to drink many beers.

four. A pre-game Guinness with Piotr Nowak at the team hotel, a PBR and a Blatz at the tailgate and a $9 Corona in the 2nd half. My "ebullience", may be attributed equally to the emotion of the evening as well as Milwaukee's most famous beverage.

Cheers and thanks for coming!

peter

Yeah, and that Corona was definitely nine dollars worth of beer. That was the biggest beer I've ever had in my life.

Personally, when I went to see Revs @ Fire, I was highly disappointed that Corona was the best beer you could get, I just went with a Bud. Aren't there any decent Chicago microbrews they could sell, or am I just spoiled with the "Beers of New England" stand at Gillette?

I really hope that the Milwaukee stadium will have a partnership with Lakefront Brewery.

TOYOTA Park has since expanded their beer selection to inlude Polish beer Okocim. There may be other beers as well.

peter

The beers of Chicago's Goose Island Brewing leap to mind.

Beyond Goose Island, I know of several brewpub set-ups that operate in the Chicagoland area. Whether they've got the production capacity to be able to make their product available to a stadium concession operation... well, I don't know. Prairie Rock Brewing is based in Elgin, IL. Wild Onion Brewing is in Lake Barrington, IL. Flossmoor Station Brewing Company is in Flossmoor, IL. Flatlander's Restaurant and Brewery is in Lincolnshire, IL. Three Floyds Brewing Company is in Munster, IN.

If you could get their Russian Imperial Stout on tap, I'd find a way to rent one of your luxury boxes year round to live in.

Hello all,

I have been watching the progress of bringing an MLS team to Milwaukee with great interest and hope that someday I won't have to drive to Bridgeview to watch a professional soccer match.

I did have a question for Peter about timing, though I don't know if this has already been answered. Are you still looking to get a team for the 2008 season, or are you now looking at 2009 because there is simply not enough time left to get everything done? If 2008 is still the goal, are there any hard deadlines where certain things, such as approvals, financing, ground breaking, etc., would have to be completed by in order to be ready by spring, 2008?

I know there's a lot you can't say at this point, so forgive my curiosity. Thank you for all of your efforts so far and good luck.

I'm not Peter Wilt, however, I'd think that if 2008 was going to happen, ground would have to break this fall (at the latest). Peter, please correct me if that information is incorrect.

Toronto broke ground at the end of January this year and is on pace for a May, 2007 opening. We could. Break ground in January, 2007 and be open for start of 2008 season.

We will need land acquisition, zoning changes, TIF approval, lead investor commitment and MLS approval by mid-November. Certainly a challenging schedule, but not insurmountable as we've laid the ground work for all those steps. 2009 is a backup if the timing doesn't work. If we don't secure the land, the deal will die, however.

peter

Peter, has there been any movement on the land deal as of late? It was great to see you out in Chicago. I don't think you'd remember me but you did stop by our tailgate in the North Parking lot, I was the one with the DC United Jersey on. Keep up the good work in bringing a team to Milwaukee and if it does happen, you've got a job opening for a sports managment major ?