Steineke Says Rejection Of Menominee’s Bucks Arena Offer Makes Governor’s Plan Less Viable

State Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke says the Walker administration’s rejection of the latest Menominee casino proposal makes it more difficult to pass a Bucks arena deal in the Wisconsin Legislature.

The Menominee Nation offered to pick up the the state’s share of $220 million in bonding for a new Bucks arena in exchange for Walker’s approval of a new casino last week. The Walker administration rejected the offer almost immediately, saying it was not viable.

Steineke, a Republican from Kaukauna, said he doesn’t know enough about the Menominee offer to say whether it would have worked, but he said it does complicate the Bucks issue in the state Legislature.

“I mean, we’ve got a vast majority of representatives throughout the state whose constituents have little or nothing to do with the Bucks,” said Steineke. “So every little issue that comes along that complicates finding funding for the arena makes it more difficult to pass something like that.”

Steineke said the state’s share of any arena deal should be smaller than what the governor proposed. He also said that the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County should pay more.