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Milwaukee Talks: Milwaukee Mile chairman Craig Stoehr
(page 3)
OMC: Milwaukee is often described as an ultraconservative market and one that can be tough on businesses. As someone who has worked in other places around the world and returned, are you finding that to be true?
Stoehr: I certainly don't think it's a tax-friendly environment. My family has a business (Oconomowoc Manufacturing Corp.) here. I don't know if you were looking at places to establish business, I don't know that you would select Wisconsin. The tax base is high. The property taxes are high. At the same time, the cost of living is lower than places like Chicago. Do you have to deal with traffic and other issues that you would in a place like Chicago? No. But, I think there are some things they could be doing to lure businesses here.OMC: What specific things have you learned about this market, starting with the business community?
Stoehr: In the year that I've been back here, I've made more business contacts and more friends -- really good people -- than in any of the other places that I've been. I've always had friends and good business colleagues, but maybe it was a little bit easier here because I've got my brother here and people know my parents. It's a little easier to cast your net a little wider.
OMC: It's definitely a small town. Is that an advantage of a disadvantage?
Stoehr: I would say that is a pro and a con. It's good, because you can get to meet a lot of people quickly and get to know who people are and make good business contacts and meet people you like to socialize with. But, it is bad because everybody does know everybody's business.
Stoehr: I didn't really notice it when I was here before, because I was younger, but there is a big driver here -- with everybody we're doing business with and we're doing our media campaign about -- you find that everything is very price-sensitive.
Stoehr: People in Milwaukee have money, but they're really into value. They don't spend lavishly. That's something that I've learned. I will say this, though: Milwaukee has become much more cosmopolitan since I was here for law school in 1990.
OMC: You've taken a risk by getting involved in the track. In some ways, your situation at the racetrack is similar to what Mark Attanasio experienced with the Brewers. He came in and saw the whole valley adjacent to his ballpark and the potential it had for development. He also retained some local ownership, which was pivotal in getting your deal done. When you were talking to investors about this project, what was the sales pitch? Were you selling the idea of racing or selling yourself?
Stoehr: We spent seven months negotiating and doing due diligence. If we didn't think we could make money here, we wouldn't have done it. For us, the real estate is kind of the icing on the cake. For sure, we can make money on the track itself, but we can also make money on the real estate. It makes financial sense for us. We're in it for the long-term.
I would say the biggest sales point, besides the fact that the deal made sense, was Andy. He knew everybody involved. He went to some of the key people like (philanthropist) Chris Abele and Dan Bader (of the Helen Bader Foundation) and some of our earliest investors. They saw that it made sense and they liked the people involved.
Then, you start talking about adding people like Gilbert Brown and Ulice Payne and Fred Stratton. We've got a really nice cross-section of the community. We have business people, philanthropists, people who have been involved with sports and people who haven't been involved with sports.
It has been a great experience. For my real estate company, it was a way of investing in Wisconsin. It put us on the map and gave us a profile. It's already been good in terms of leading to some business.
Stoehr: Gilbert has been great. He's a super guy, and he came to us. When he heard about the Mile going to a local investor group, he approached us. He's been great. He loves racing. He loves being around. He loves people. He's bright. He's witty. You can see why he's so popular. Not only was he a great ballplayer, but he's got a certain charisma about him that people flock to.
OMC: How was your first event?
Stoehr: Overall, we were very pleased. If you look at attendance, I'd say we were triple where we were last year. Last year, I think we had about 6,000 or 7,000. This time, I think we had about 20,000 people there. Everything ran very smoothly. The Champ Car folks were very pleased with the operations and the increased turnout.
Granted, I did hear a few people who were disappointed about the race ending. I understand that. Fans have a right to have certain expectations. It certainly will be something we address with champ car next season. Fans can count on that. For the most part, everything was positive. We got lucky with the weather and hopefully, we'll get lucky again this weekend.<< Back
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Talkbacks
tommil45 | Jan. 3, 2007 at 1:59 p.m. (report)
The development of a limited service and small hotel on the oval is underestimating the long term needs of a hotel to support the expo center, milwaukee mile and the Fair Park. Other options are available across the street for a high rise structure hotel, enclosed in tiered parking with a crosswalk over Greefield Ave connecting to the expo center. When are people going to look long term and not just be shorchanged by quick ,limited fixes.The board has been fsat talked on this and will lose the opportunity across the street forever. Good Luck
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OMCreader | July 10, 2006 at 9:06 a.m. (report)
Ozlem said: Hi Craig!! Reina is old news, try Ottoman 29 or Supper Club next time!
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OMCreader | June 21, 2006 at 2:04 p.m. (report)
Linda said: He's even had deep fried Scorpian in China...
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OMCreader | June 21, 2006 at 7:43 a.m. (report)
Wow said: Craig Stoehr looks like a slightly older Luke Wilson!
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