Lambeau Field is one of the oldest and most historic stadiums in the NFL. The legends of Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr, the "Ice Bowl", and Brett Favre were established on the grounds of the famous "Frozen Tundra." America's only fan-owned team is struggling to keep the historic field as the team readies to plunge into the new millennium. The main issue as it is for all the NFL teams is the almighty dollar.

The planned Lambeau field renovation would include 10,000 new seats, a 5-story atrium that would include the Packer Hall of Fame, a stadium club, and a retail space. The Packers are leveraging the State legislature to give Brown County the authority to levy a ½ percent sales tax increase to help finance an estimated $295 million dollar Lambeau renovation. This tax would cover approximately $160 million dollars for the project’s cost and $4 million dollars a year in maintenance costs. The stadium lease states that the Packers and the county would split the tax income. The city, which owns the stadium, holds the upper hand over the team regarding issues such as the naming of the stadium. In fact, the mayor, Paul Jardin, told the Brown County Lambeau Field Renovation subcommittee that this particular issue would be used in the negotiation process with the team to ensure the proposed tax if levied would reduce the stadium debt and be eliminated as soon as possible. A sports management company would be hired to access the value of the naming rights and the county’s new arena. The selling of the naming rights would be used to reduce the tax burden. Packer president Bob Harlan is opposed to renaming the stadium to support the fans’ wishes.

The cost of fielding some the elite players in NFL is also putting a burden on the Packers. Players’ salaries have risen almost 71% from $42 million in 1994 to $71.8 million this year. Recently the Legislative Audit Bureau filed a report that showed the Packers enjoyed several years of record earnings and is in good financial shape. However, the growth of the team’s cash and investments are growing slower than the earnings mainly due to things like the signing bonuses of the players. The report showed the Packers would earn an extra 20.5 million dollars per year by the 2004-05 season with the renovations. This is 18 million dollars less than was originally estimated by the Packers. The Auditors could not determine whether the additional revenue generated from the renovation would be enough to keep the Packers financially competitive with the other teams in the NFL. This issue is one the main arguments by the Packer’s organization for the renovation. The teams original proposal that was sent to be audited did not include a plan to increase ticket prices. After reviewing the report, the Packers said it plans to increase the ticket prices by $6 dollars per game in 2001-02 and $3 in 2002-03.