Two leading political figures requested Wednesday that the Milwaukee Brewers baseball club open its financial records to the Legislative Audit Bureau to investigate reasons for the 25 percent cut in player payroll recently proposed by the team's board of directors.
State Assembly Speaker John Gard, R-Peshtigo, and Rep. Bob Ziegelbauer, D-Manitowoc, who instigated the request, said the 25 percent cut was uncalled for. It would take player payroll from a comparably low $40 million down to a painful $30 million to pay a full roster of approximately 27 players. This cut shocked some fans and taxpayers.
\It's just not a good situation,"" said Tim Hollfelder, a UW-Madison junior and Brewers fan. ""We need to find out where that money went.""
""Good players like Alex Rodriguez make $25 million a year,"" said Steve Baas, Gard's press secretary. ""How can we expect to keep or recruit good players without giving them a decent player's salary?""
Costs to taxpayers to build Miller Park, which opened in 2001, staggered roughly $400 million with an additional $6 million paid per month to maintain the stadium after, according to Bass.
An agreement between taxpayers and Brewer owners over costs and logistics ended with a shared understanding that revenues made from increasing sales due to the new stadium would result in more money to bring in better players for the team. The hope was to help take the Brewers off their 11th straight losing season they just completed.
""Taxpayers and fans made a significant sacrifice and investment,"" Baas said. ""We feel that the taxpayers deserve answers.""
The audit of financial records is not a legal matter. The Legislative Audit Bureau would review the Brewers' records but cannot legally force the team to open them. When asked, Ziegelbauer said he hoped the Brewers would cooperate and not refuse the request.
""It's a public matter,"" Ziegelbauer said. ""They have given no reason as to why this cut was made.""
A spokesperson for the Brewers said the team owners had no official comment.
Rumors over the loss of Brewers' first baseman Richie Sexson, a key Brewers' player, have circulated. With the reduction in payroll, questions have sprung up over whether the decrease in salary will be just another reason for Sexson and other key players to leave the Brewers for another team.
""Who knows if he'll stay now,"" Hollfelder said.
