Finance committee backs $30 million county pledge for Mitchell Park Domes, contingent on lease and development agreements

Milwaukee County’s committee on finance on July 2025 recommended adoption of a policy-level pledge of $30 million in county capital to the Domes Reimagined project at Mitchell Park, with the funding explicitly made contingent on later approval of a long-term lease and a development agreement.

The county’s $30 million commitment is structured as $5 million per year over six years and would be matched by private and other non-county sources to fund a $114 million total project. Deputy director James Tarantino told supervisors the county pledge would be released only after phase-by-phase benchmarks are met and the Domes Alliance raises the required private match.

The proposal follows a decade of study and engagement after the domes closed temporarily because of falling concrete; Milwaukee County Parks Executive Director Guy Smith and Deputy Director James Tarantino framed the plan as a public–private partnership meant to shift operating…