GREEN BAY, WI — The Green Bay City Council shares its side of the on-going dispute with the Green Bay Packers on a proposed lease extension at Lambeau Field. At a news conference Wednesday on the CityDeck, Council President Brian Johnson says the city wants to negotiate in good faith with the Packers but not under the conditions laid out by the team.
However, the city won’t agree to conditions including freezing team rent at 2023 levels over 39-years and the lack of team commitment to labor and workforce guarantees. Johnson says the team is asking more terms from lease that’s already attractive in pro-sports.
Johnson says they’d also like to see current labor and workforce commitments included in any team proposal.
The Packers organization wants the extended lease in order to proceed with $1.5 billion dollars in stadium improvements. The current Lambeau Field lease runs through 2023.
Following the city council news conference, the Packers organization released the following statement:
“The Packers were pleased to see the Common Council express having the interest of taxpayers in mind as they discussed the extension of the Lambeau Field lease, as the taxpayers are precisely whom the Packers have considered through their proposals that, unlike virtually all other recent stadium deals, did not request taxpayer funding.
“Much of what they said about negotiations was mischaracterized, but that is because they were not involved in the negotiations and, unfortunately, have been misinformed.
“The Packers present a new offer, arguably the most taxpayer-friendly in all of sports, that states:
1) The Packers will invest $1.5 billion into Lambeau Field.
2) Taxpayers will have no obligation in that investment.
3) The extended lease includes the current rent escalator, as the City requested, and extends 30 years. All other terms of the current lease will remain the same, as it has worked well since its inception in 2001.
“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.”
