Board Approves $30 Million Commitment For Domes

Proposed Nature Learning Center addition. Rendering courtesy Friends of the Domes.

The Milwaukee County Board quickly, and without debate, approved spending $30 million on a complex plan to redevelop and restore the Mitchell Park Domes.

Following the board’s vote Thursday, Milwaukee County Parks will now include an initial funding installment of $5 million in its 2026 infrastructure budget request.

The plan for the Domes was created by the Milwaukee Domes Alliance, formerly known as the Friends of the Domes, in collaboration with Milwaukee County Parks. The $133 million project will primarily be financed through tax credits and philanthropic support, but it needs a $30 million commitment from the county to get underway.

The project will be completed in two general phases. The first phase calls for the renovation of the Domes and development of a visitor center, expanding the gift shop, adding a cafe and turning a small, dome-shaped greenhouse into a new children’s dome where children can play and be active. The second phase, financed entirely with private funding, involves construction of a new $26 million Nature Learning Center, which will provide expanded educational space and bolster Domes revenue through event rentals.

The Milwaukee Domes Alliance is thrilled to see the County Supervisors once again affirm their commitment to the Domes Reimagined project and to preserving Milwaukee‘s beautiful horticultural oasis,” said Christa Beall Diefenbach, executive director of the Milwaukee Domes Alliance. “With today’s vote, we really see this as flipping the narrative. The Domes will no longer be seen as a source of strain for the County. Instead, we can look to them once again as a source of strength and hope.”

The Domes will be redeveloped one at a time and the $30 million in county funding would be paid over six years, $5 million per year. These installments will still need to be approved each year as part of the county’s annual budget.

“I am very happy that my fellow supervisors were willing to stand with us and with the 12th district and with the neighborhood surrounding the Domes today,” said Sup. Juan Miguel Martinez, whose 12th district seat includes Mitchell Park. “I’m looking forward to budget season, and I’m looking forward to making sure that we revitalize our neighborhood through this resolution.”

The Milwaukee Domes Alliance and Parks are still negotiating a long-term lease agreement. Officials expect to present the deal to the board in September. The resolution presented to the board in July was intended to secure a commitment from supervisors for the project prior to the annual budget process. It also assures the Milwaukee Domes Alliance of the county’s financial backing before it signs the agreement and continues soliciting donations from the local philanthropic community.

The funding is being allocated from the parks department’s annual infrastructure budget. That means each year, for the next six years, there will be $5 million less for other park projects.

A decade ago, concrete began to fall from the Domes’ structure. County officials knew for some time that the aging structures needed investment, but the discussion found new urgency when pieces started falling off. A Domes Task Force was convened in 2016 and worked for nearly four years on a plan to save the Domes. The primary problem for the structures has always been the county’s lack of available funding.

It still has a lack of funding. Policymakers go into the budget season this fall with a projected $46.7 million budget deficit and a budget that won’t come close to funding all of the county’s infrastructure needs.

The board did not discuss the issue during their meeting Thursday. It did unanimously amend the resolution to include a provision authored by Sup. Sheldon Wasserman that would ensure the Domes revert back to county ownership if the Milwaukee Domes Alliance is ever unable, or unwilling, to continue operating the Domes.

Supervisors voted 15 to 2 to pass the resolution. Supervisors Steve Taylor and Deanna Alexander voted against it.

County Executive David Crowley has not yet made a decision about whether or not he will support the funding commitment resolution.

“The County Executive is reviewing the resolution and will make a decision in the near future,” a spokesperson said.

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