Madison City to place Toyota Field four‑story expansion and funding plan on council agenda after MLB compliance briefing

Madison City officials agreed during a Oct. 28 work session to place on the council agenda a request to increase the architect’s contract to prepare four‑story construction drawings for Toyota Field, a step tied to meeting Major League Baseball facility requirements and to a proposed financing plan that would combine bonds, lodging tax revenue and Ball Corp contributions.

The council heard budgetary estimates from city staff and proposals from Ball Corp and the project’s architect. Gerald, a city staff member, said the two contractor estimates for the single‑story locker/dugout project ranged widely and that the full four‑story build estimates ranged from about $19.7 million to $30 million. He cautioned, “These these are budgetary numbers. Okay? So that's I I wanna make sure everybody understands that.”

Why it matters: the city must complete certain work to satisfy Major League Baseball’s criteria. Staff and Ball Corp outlined two paths: complete the minimum one‑story clubhouse work required by MLB (estimated roughly $6–$9.5 million in competing contractor quotes, with a conservative staff estimate of roughly $8 million after adding required items), or pursue the larger four‑story expansion that adds revenue‑producing space but raises total project and financing needs.

Officials and presenters described the likely financing structure if the city moves forward with the larger build. Mark, a Ball Corp representative, provided an illustrative cost and funding breakdown that placed the building and related parking, bond issuance and contingencies near $29 million: roughly $22.5 million for the building, $1.25–$1.5 million estimated for parking improvements, and an assumed $1 million in bond issuance costs. Under that scenario the city’s estimated bond amount would be about $22 million and, at an illustrative 5% interest rate over 25 years, produce an annual bond payment of about $1.55 million.

Roger, a city staff member who reviewed bond assumptions, said market rates of 4.5%–5% were reasonable for planning: “Most of them right now is 4 and a half to 5.” Council members and staff discussed how the additional annual payment would combine with the current ballpark bond payment (roughly $3.2 million) for a projected combined City ballpark debt service near $4.75 million. The funding plan discussed subtracting a portion of lodging (hotel) tax revenue and relying on Ball Corp to backstop the difference; Ball Corp’s minimum annual contribution to the city was described in the session as $1 million, with recent years above that level (staff noted Ball Corp paid about $1.5–$1.6 million last year).

Schedule and scope: the architect and staff warned that schedule risk is significant. The architect estimated that completing the one‑story clubhouse plans first is necessary to meet the city’s April 2026 clubhouse opening target and said preparing full four‑story construction drawings in parallel would require additional contract scope and time (staff identified a four‑story construction‑set cost of about $1.2 million versus roughly $600,000 for the previously authorized one‑story set). The architect indicated limited slack in the schedule and recommended moving now if the council wants the option to build up to four stories without delaying the clubhouse deadline.

Council decision: after extended discussion about cost ranges, funding mechanisms, legal protections in the lease, and public notice, a majority of council members agreed to place a motion on tonight’s meeting agenda to increase the architect’s scope to include four‑story drawings (the meeting record shows council members agreed to “walk it on” for tonight). Staff said the immediate action to be voted on would be approval to increase the scope of the current architect contract to produce four‑story construction drawings; if approved, staff would then proceed with design development and next steps including bidding and value engineering.

Outstanding issues and limits of authority: staff and council members flagged several unresolved items: final contractor bids may differ from the budgetary estimates presented; the city’s ability to require Ball Corp to cover shortfalls is constrained by existing lease language (staff said similar lease language is common in MLB stadium agreements); and lodging‑tax collections are allocated across multiple funds and cannot be freely reallocated without following legal fund restrictions. Council members asked the city attorney and the parties to review lease language and bond documentation before any final authorization.

Next steps: council members agreed to add the architect scope amendment to tonight’s council agenda for a formal vote. If the council approves expanded architect scope, staff said it would pursue completed construction documents, value engineering, and a bid process; staff emphasized the city would accept the lowest responsible bidder and that value engineering could be used to reduce costs if bids come in above budget.

Ending note: the work session closed with the council directing staff to prepare the item for tonight’s agenda and to return with additional legal and financial details as requested by council members.