Will Packers ‘pack’ bags from Lambeau Field?

Article posted by Coliseum, October 28^th, 2024

Image: Lambeau Field, Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0

The National Football League (NFL) team Green Bay Packers agreed on October 23^rd to offer the City of Green Bay the money it wants in an extended lease for their home pitch – the Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin (US).

Since the City has earlier rejected three proposals by the Packers the NFL team made it clear that if the above proposal is unacceptable they will “not engage in further discussions”.

‘Green Bay Press Gazette’ stated that the Green Bay City Council Members, showing a rare case of unanimity on October 23^rd, said they backed the Mayor of Green Bay Eric Genrich in negotiations with the Green Bay Packers over a new or extended Lambeau Field lease. All the 12 Council Members gathered on the CityDeck (park in Green Bay) to explain why the City rejected three proposals by the Packers.

The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin (US). The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference North Division.

The 81,441-capacity Lambeau Field is an outdoor athletic stadium in the North Central United States located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It is the home field of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL).

‘Green Bay Press Gazette’ further stated that the Lambeau Field lease expires in 2032. The Packers have five two-year options to extend the lease which pays the City a little over $1 million a year.

The Packers countered after the presser by offering a new proposal. The Packers offered rent with an annual escalator of 2.75 percent for 30 years starting at about $1 million. In return, the other provisions of the lease, except for those that no longer apply – mostly having to do with the 2003 renovation – would remain in place, including the continued existence of the Green Bay/Brown County Professional Football Stadium District (district office in Green Bay).

The Packers said they would invest $1.5 billion in the stadium and the taxpayers would not be obligated to pay for the investment.

The team sent out a statement which read, “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.”

Taxpayers First

The Packers and the City held talks about extending the lease for more than a year before the Packers made three proposals, all rejected by the City, which did not make its own proposal.

The City maintained the Packers’ proposals did not reflect the understanding reached in the negotiations. After that, the City suspended the negotiations.

All the Council Members on October 23^rd wore Packers gear emphasizing their support for the team.

Remarked Brian Johnson, City Council President, “That’s football and this is business. We need to learn how to separate football from business. We understand why an extended lease is desired by the Packers. They want to make substantial investments in the stadium and they want to ensure that they have long-term control and that a future Council doesn’t raise the rent after they made those investments. We think that is a very smart business decision on their part.”

The City had said the three previous proposals by the Packers had not “captured that agreed-upon language (in discussions). It includes everything they want in a deal but nothing that benefits the taxpayers of Green Bay. It is not in the best interests of the City taxpayers of Green Bay to accept the lease offer from the Packers that pays us less than what both parties previously agreed to.”

Johnson said three points in particular fell short – “When you do the public stadium deals there’s some pretty standard language that’s universal across these: The community benefit statement, investment in economic development and lease payments. The Packers are missing two of the three and are asking for a reduction in the third.”

The City has been particularly unhappy with the Packers’ proposal to freeze the rent payments for up to 30 years at just more than $1 million per year and to keep annual increases of 2.75 percent to be put toward stadium operations and maintenance (O&M) costs. Johnson said the City could not afford to lose $30 million, $1 million a year, in income without cutting services.

Under the offer the Packers proposed on October 23^rd, the team would not include language in the lease about public benefits or economic development.

Johnson acknowledged that the Packers already do those things but the City would like commitments in writing – “We acknowledge that, we know that and we are so appreciative of those investments, however, we want a lease to capture that. We are talking about something that’s 40 years from now.”

Stadium District Future Unclear

The City also would like to remove the Green Bay/Brown County Professional Football Stadium District from the lease process although how and when that could happen was not explained. Johnson acknowledged that was a long-term goal of the Mayor.

Under the Packers’ new proposal the stadium Board would remain for the length of the new lease.

The Council members argued that the stadium Board’s only real remaining purpose was to manage a fund that subsidizes the operations and maintenance and when it runs out in 2031 the Board would not be needed.

Added Johnson, “Once that fund is depleted, to have the stadium Board intervene in discussions between the Packers and the City when the City is the owner of the field doesn’t make any sense. Now, that said, I get why the Packers want to do it. Their concern is what if you have political motivations that get in the way of, obviously, a very big franchise? The City has agreed to put in guardrails to prevent that from happening. The Packers have rejected that.”

Under the terms of the existing lease, the stadium Board is the co-landlord with the City and handles most direct communications with the Packers. In addition to managing the fund, the Board has provided money for the local economic development and approved the Packers building projects at the Lambeau Field as well as monitor the stadium upkeep.

Bill Galvin, the Council Vice-President and former Stadium Board Member, said the Packers want to give control of the Lambeau Field to the Brown County and Ashwaubenon (village in Wisconsin). Both appoint members to the stadium Board as does the City.

Maintained Galvin, “The City of Green Bay asserts it owns the entire stadium. Everything on it and in it is owned by the City of Green Bay.”

Both the parties contend that the other is getting the most favorable stadium deal in professional sports.

No Impact on 2025 NFL Draft

Once again, Johnson affirmed that whatever happens in the lease negotiations it will not negatively affect Green Bay hosting the NFL Draft on April 24^th-26^th, 2025.

The Packers President-cum-head honcho Mark Murphy said the Draft will be the biggest event ever held in Green Bay. The organizers predict an attendance of 250,000 with an economic impact of $92 million Statewide and $20 million in the Brown County.

Concluded Johnson, “Negotiations are tough and they are filled with conflict but they also are filled with crucial conversations. We want to continue to have those conversations with the Packers. This is not meant to be a stalemate … this is not going to affect the Draft and our commitment to what we pledged there at all. The Draft comes first.”

New York (US)-based the National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams divided equally between the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference.

The NFL Draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League (NFL).

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