Wisconsin lawmakers want to reduce oversight of large event tourism fund

(The Center Square) – A bill that would change the oversight of Wisconsin’s major event funds to reduce the number of approvals needed will be discussed in the Assembly on Tuesday.

The large events fund was created in a 2023 bill that created an Opportunity Attraction Fund worth $30 million for events such as the NFL Draft in Green Bay or the USA Triathlon in Milwaukee but bill sponsors say that the funds have not been able to be used in many cases due to the approvals necessary to distribute those funds.

Assembly Bill 813 would change the definition of fund distribution from grants to sponsorships from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.

Grants require six to eight weeks to process, committee approval if they are worth $501,000 or more and additional approval of the WEDC Board of Directors if they are valued at more than $2 million.

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