MILWAUKEE — Beers, brats, and burgers are hard to avoid at a Wisconsin sporting event, but the price tag can be surprising for fans attending games in person.
Two Wisconsin state senators are hoping to change that with new legislation introduced earlier this week.
Senators Sarah Keyeski of Lodi and Brad Pfaff of Onalaska introduced a bill they're calling "Stop the Stadium Squeeze," which would cap how much stadiums can charge for concessions. The legislation would limit stadiums to a 20% markup on the seller's cost of the item.
The bill would apply to any stadium with more than 3,000 seats that receives any public assistance, meaning venues like Fiserv Forum, American Family Field, and Camp Randall Stadium would all be affected.
Watch: Wisconsin sports fans react to proposed legislation to cap the amount stadiums could charge for concessions
For fans like Jayme Martin, the cost of attending games with family is already a concern.
"If you're not buying any drinks and it's like food and sodas for the family, it's very expensive, especially if you have multiple children," Martin said.
Nate Abraham said the high cost of concessions has kept him from bringing his young children to Bucks games.
"I have two young kids, I don't bring them to the Bucks game because they're three and four, and so it's not worth it, but my kids watch Bucks games with me, so now if I could bring them here for a reasonable price, they'd love it," Abraham said.
Not everyone sees the issue the same way. Laura Fredlick, who attends Bucks games frequently, said she understands both sides of the debate.
"A lot of times they're bringing families and kids, it'll get expensive, but I've also traveled around, and I know this stadium doesn't charge nearly as much as some of the others," Fredlick said.
TMJ4 reached out to the Bucks, Brewers, and Wisconsin Center District, the owners of UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
The Bucks declined to comment, while the Brewers and WCD did not respond in time for this story.
The bill is still in its early stages, and it could be some time before it advances, if it does at all.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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