Wisconsin Gov. Walker expected to announce support for new Bucks arena

The Milwaukee Bucks' future in Wisconsin continues to look more and more certain.

A month ago, new owners Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens pledged an additional $50 million toward a new arena for the team, bringing the total private funding to date to $250 million. That was a great next step but left the team about $150 million short of the estimated cost of the project.

And so, a few weeks back, team president Peter Feigin called for public financing to help make up some of the remaining funds. After all, the NBA has the option to buy the Bucks at a very attractive price if a new arena isn't in place by 2017, and Milwaukee surely doesn't want to lose their team.

Feigin's calls have been heard, as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is expected to announce on Tuesday morning that he plans to support the arena project, according to a report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Walker is expected to announce he'll submit a financing plan that includes bonding to the state budget to help build what would be a multipurpose facility in downtown Milwaukee.

From the Sentinel:

A source familiar with Walker's plan said the governor's plan relies on the diversion of income taxes paid by visiting National Basketball Association athletes as well as Milwaukee Bucks players to pay the debt service on the bonding. The plan also could include diverting sales taxes paid for some goods and services at the new arena.
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Walker's policy-makers have kept specifics of the financing plan, which would supplement the money new Bucks owners Wes Edens, Marc Lasry and Jamie Dinan have pledged toward the new arena, under wraps. The source said it was not clear how much Walker would ask for in state bonding for the project.

The Bucks' ownership group had suggested they believe they can raise additional funding privately, perhaps up to the $300-million mark. That would leave about $100 million up to public help, but Walker's plan is expected to be a contentious one, so that amount is anything but a certainty.

The next steps for ownership involve selecting a site, studying the feasibility and putting a more concrete financial plan in place, something they should be able to do with more confidence after Walker provides public support.