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 responsibility to the Milwaukee Domes Alliance while preserving county ownership of the parkland. Krista B.L. Diefenbach, CEO of the Milwaukee Domes Alliance, said the project is “not just restoring the domes… but instead, imagining a new future for them,” and argued the reimagined domes would be financially sustainable and avoid eventual demolition costs the county could face.

Nut graf: The committee’s action asks the full board to authorize the county’s capital pledge as a policy decision while reserving final approval of a 99‑year lease and a development agreement. The funding is staged and contingent on private fundraising, tax-credit financing and federal/state appropriations; county disbursements would be phased and tied to completion of each construction phase.

Tarantino and Parks staff laid out the proposed funding stack: the county’s $30 million would leverage roughly $84 million in outside funds (fundraising, historic tax credits, new market tax credits and appropriations) to reach a $114 million project total. The project is planned in three construction phases: Phase 1A (the show dome and related improvements) is estimated at $49 million total, with roughly $12.9 million of county funding expected to be available for that phase after required matches; Phase 1B and 1C are each shown as roughly $31 million projects with smaller county contributions.

Speakers from the Domes Alliance, including Beverly Smiley (board president) and Andrew Holman (volunteer CPA/treasurer), testified in support and described donor commitments, feasibility work and operating projections that, in their view, make the project viable and able to eliminate the county’s ongoing operational subsidy. William Lynch, chair of the Domes Task Force, endorsed the plan and said proposed new elements—among them a year‑round children’s dome and expanded education space—should increase visitation and revenue.

Supervisors asked detailed financial questions. Supervisor Steve Taylor said he would vote no, noting competing capital priorities across the county; Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez moved amendment language clarifying that county disbursements are contingent on approval of lease and development agreements and compliance with their terms. The amendment passed; the finance committee then recommended the resolution for adoption as amended by a 5–1 vote (one supervisor voting no).

Ending: The committee’s recommendation advances a multi‑year, conditional county pledge; the full Milwaukee County Board will consider the pledge alongside the later lease and development-agreement approvals, which staff said will be brought back to the board in a following cycle. The Parks Department emphasized that the county retains ownership of the parkland and that county funds will be released only after specified benchmarks and private matches are met.