For months, stadium lease negotiations between the city of Green Bay, Wis., and the Green Bay Packers have been at a standstill. Now, The Green Bay/Brown County Professional Football Stadium District has asked that the negotiation resume and include the stadium district as well.
The Green Bay Packers initially approached the city to extend the lease beyond 2032, offering to pay a flat rate of $1 million per year, as well as invest $1.5 billion into the stadium without public assistance. After rejecting the proposals by the team, the city ceased negotiations and did not submit a counter-proposal. Negotiations were meant to continue in September, but the city canceled those meetings as well. At that time, the Packers first approached the stadium district for help in getting the city’s attention.
Related: Green Bay Packers Appeal to Stadium District for Help Negotiating Lease with City
The lease includes the stadium district, so the group’s input is essential to finding a meaningful solution. Brian Dworak, district executive director, told Green Bay Press Gazette, “The stadium district board had a robust discussion today on lease matters. We came to an agreement on several priorities from the stadium district's perspective and we look forward to meeting with the city and the Packers on lease matters in the very near future. We'll be calling for a meeting on that subject. The Packers had an interest in meeting with us and we are ready to take the next step now.
"We've said all along this is a three-party lease. All three parties should be at the table as part of the negotiations and that's something we still strongly believe in. To date, obviously, we haven't been part of any of the discussions and we are hoping to restart that and get everybody on the same page," Dworak said.
Before walking away from January’s negotiations, the city requested that the stadium district be disbanded, that the Packers make investments in the community and that the lease rate on the stadium increase 2.75% each year.
