Editorial
Save stadium
There are many good reasons to vote 'yes' to renovate Packers' home, Lambeau Field
By Tony Staley
Compass Editor
Brown County residents should vote "yes" on Sept. 12 to
renovate Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers.
Reasons for approving the half-percent sales tax needed to
fund these renovations include:
-- The Packers are a community treasure unlike any other
major league professional sports franchise in the world. It
is a non-profit organization, owned mainly by members of our
community, not by a wealthy elite. These are truly the Green
Bay Packers, unlike other teams, which should more
accurately be called the Jerry Jones Cowboys, the Herb Kohl
Bucks, the George Steinbrenner Yankees and so on. The
Packers have no wealthy owner and therefore depend on us.
-- Numerous civic groups - including Catholic schools - make
money by selling food in concession stands during Packer
games. All other teams use concessions as a major source of
revenue for themselves, not their communities. Plus, the
Packers have given millions of dollars to other charities,
including the Green Bay Diocese and the Shriners.
-- The Packers are an integral part of this community and its
identity. They give us something to talk about around the
bubbler or wherever we gather as community. And the Packers
have put Green Bay on the map through exposure on TV and in
the newspapers. Paper mills may have a bigger financial role
in the community, but they aren't why people have heard of
Green Bay.
-- The Packers have a strong positive economic impact on this
area, translating into millions of dollars and thousands of
jobs. Renovating the stadium and adding an atrium will
increase the numbers of hours the stadium complex is used
each year. And rather than harm local businesses, the atrium
will result in more businesses near the stadium, just as new
stadium projects have rejuvenated other cities.
-- We owe it to our children and grandchildren to pass on to
them the Packers as part of our legacy and heritage.
-- Although Lambeau Field is a community treasure, it's no
architectural masterpiece. For aesthetic reasons alone, we
need to renovate the stadium to make it looks like the
treasure it is, instead of an outbuilding.
As someone who 11 years ago moved to Green Bay from
Portland, Ore., I believe most people here don't realize how
the Packers are part of our fabric of life. They are part of
the air we breathe. Let's not snuff that out. Vote "yes."
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