GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – State Representative David Steffen introduced a piece of legislation to the people of Brown County Monday that would do away with a program created in 1999.

In the legislation, Rep. Steffen is proposing to eliminate the Lambeau Field Stadium District program that at one time oversaw the construction of Lambeau Field, pay off bonds and taxes – and according to Steffen – with those three items complete, the board no longer has a primary function.

By eliminating the Board, LambeauField ownership rights, responsibilities and ancillary revenue streams would be transferred to the City of Green Bay, however, it would not negatively impact Lambeau Field. “There’s nothing in this legislation that would negatively impact them [Lambeau Field] financially. They are tied to it in a certain way because they have a contract with the Stadium District but all those contractual obligations, through law, would transfer 100% to the City of Green Bay,” said Rep. Steffen.

According to Patt Webb, the Executive Director of the Green Bay/Brown County Professional Football Stadium District Board the sales tax may have ended in 2015 but the maintenance portion doesn’t run out until 2031 and the money that doe not go toward maintenance is used for other things. Webb mentioned about $700,000 in economic development funds were used for such things as the Resch Expo and the Botanical Gardens.

With the proposal to close down the Board, Rep. Steffen says that there would be positive impacts for all residents in Brown County and several of the municipalities, including $600 checks to Brown County homeowners, $12 million to the village of Ashwaubenon and Brown County for infrastructure expenses as well as small business grants and programs.

Rep. Steffen says he hasn’t presented the legislation to the state legislature or any other state officials yet but wanted to introduce it to the public first.

You can read the full bill below or visit the Stadium District Future website to learn more. Steffen has also asked that residents take a survey that will ask them if they support the bill and if the City of Green Bay should have specific requirements on how to spend the additional revenue.

The Green Bay Packers and the Village of Ashwaubenon released the following statement:

The Stadium District continues to work well and the Packers and Village of Ashwaubenon support the current structure. The Legislature designed and the voters deliberately chose the structure of a single-purpose, non-political entity to oversee Lambeau Field. Voters chose to support that specific structure by binding referendum. Sales tax was collected specifically for the maintenance of Lambeau Field through the terms of the lease. It is fiscally and operationally responsible to continue to use the funding for the purpose it was collected.

The District was not designed to dissolve until it fulfilled its obligations in the lease, which runs to 2033. The District’s work is not complete.

Green Bay Packers and Village of Ashwaubenon