10 Takeaways From Marty Brooks Explosive Claims Against Convention Center

Marty Brooks at the 2024 opening of the Baird Center. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Marty Brooks is spilling the tea in an attempt to clear his name and get paid almost $1 million.

In a 90-page claim, the now-former Wisconsin Center District CEO attempts to counter allegations made against him. In a filing with attorney Stephen Kravit, he also discloses several things that the board had managed to keep largely private.

The filing marks a dramatic counterattack by Brooks against the board that voted to terminate him for cause on June 8.

The claim builds on his 45-minute presentation to the board Wednesday morning, when Brooks said he was the victim of a “retroactive witch hunt” to find anything he might have done improperly so the board could avoid paying him.

If the WCD board rejects his claim, Brooks is free to file a lawsuit in an attempt to get the compensation he says he is owed.

1. We now know the size of the bonuses Brooks was being paid, and they’re huge

Brooks had a three-year employment contract through January 2028 that paid him a base salary that climbed to $445,000. Urban Milwaukee initially requested the agreement in May 2025 and received a version from WCD that blacked out all the bonuses, despite multiple sources indicating Brooks was likely to be paid them and that they should be considered part of his compensation.

But Brooks, in his claim, includes an unredacted copy of the contract. He also lays out justification for why the bonuses are so large.

Brooks, in year one of the agreement, was to be paid $545,000 via a base salary of $370,000, a retention award of $75,000, a market adjustment award of $91,000 and a car allowance of $9,000. WCD has not responded to a June records request for how much Brooks was actually paid for that year.

In the current second year of the deal, Brooks was to see his salary grow to $410,000, the retention award climb to $85,000, the adjustment award climb to $96,000 and a car allowance of $9,000. In all, he was to earn $600,000 that year.

The upcoming third year would include a $645,000 pay package, including base compensation of $445,000, a $95,000 retention bonus, a $96,000 market adjustment award and a $9,000 car allowance.

The bonuses were a political decision, said Brooks Wednesday morning. Rather than pay him a large bonus for delivering the $456 million Baird Center on time and within the budget he controlled, board chair Jim Kanter and others worked with Brooks to spread the bonus across three years. That structure also had the benefit of making Brooks’ compensation appear substantially lower than it actually was.

2. Brooks wants $903,320

Brooks is aiming high in settlement talks. He wants more than $900,000, while the board’s last offer was reported by Kravit to be $200,000.

How does Brooks calculate what he’s owed? He’s asking for $252,320 in remaining Year Two base compensation, $6,000 in remaining Year Two car allowance payments, $445,000 in Year Three base salary, a $95,000 retention award for Year Three, a $96,000 market adjustment award for Year Three and $9,000 in Year Three car allowance payments.

But his demands don’t stop there. He wants medical, dental and vision benefits through January 2028, all retirement and pension benefits he’s owed if he were still employed, and payment for 200 hours of unused vacation time and 480 hours of sick leave. The demands line up with the termination-for-convenience provision of Brooks’ contract. Brooks said a board representative first notified him he would be terminated for convenience in March, more than a month before Urban Milwaukee broke the news that the board was discussing his future, but then the board went on its “witch hunt.”

By terminating him for cause, WCD would not owe him anything.

But Brooks might walk away for less than $900,000. Days before he was fired, he offered to settle for $650,000 and rejected the board’s $380,000 offer.

After the termination vote, he dropped even further. He offered to settle for $380,000 the day after the vote. Then, six days later, he raised his offer to $419,000. Kravit declined to say Wednesday what offer Brooks would accept now.

3. The reason for buying two $1,000 pairs of shoes

Knowledge that Brooks purchased a pair of $1,000 shoes for himself and an employee has percolated for more than a month, but Urban Milwaukee hasn’t named the employee because the worker is not accused of wrongdoing. Brooks, in authoring a defense for his purchase, lays it out for readers to judge.

“This occurred in 2022 or 2023, more than three years ago. The footwear was purchased for an expense connected with a speaking engagement Sarah Maio and I were asked to participate by TEMPO to address the growth of the WCD and the expansion of the Wisconsin Center. At all times we were representing the WCD. Sarah was very active in TEMPO representing the WCD in this women’s organization. Sarah was recovering from breast cancer and a double mastectomy. To elevate her spirits in hosting an hour-long session interviewing me, I recalled the prior year’s TEMPO event where Sarah and I commented to each other how we noticed the guest speaker’s shoes. I knew the attendees of the event would notice the bottoms of the shoes, some being impressed by our taste, and a confidence builder for Sarah at this very public appearance weeks after her surgery.”

The employee handbook, according to the board, prohibits spending WCD funds on clothing and requires preapproval for expenses over $500. Brooks’ response? “The moment I completed the on-line transaction, I notified the CFO and told him of the purchase, the amount, and the rationale. I thought by doing so I satisfied the need to disclose the purchase.”

Maio and CFO Steve Marsh would later resign with separation agreements the board said were unauthorized. Brooks said they were negotiated with the full knowledge of district counsel. “This was summer of 2025, no complaint or comment until now,” the claim says.

4. Brooks wants to be paid for legal fees, and Kravit isn’t cheap

“Aggravated litigation” firm Kravit, Hovel & Krawczyk doesn’t come cheap. Brooks, as allowed under state statute, is requesting that the Wisconsin Center District pay his legal fees. The cost at the time of the claim? $85,443.

Brooks and Kravit, in a footnote, note this compares favorably to the district spending an alleged $650,000 on the services of Husch Blackwell and Kane Communications Group related to his termination.

5. The board believes Brooks predetermined the outcome of the convention hotel study; Brooks still denies it

The board, in its charges against Brooks, said Brooks disclosed the study’s anticipated conclusions to outside stakeholders the day before presenting it to the board and that a rendering of the new hotel was prepared before any data was collected. “The study’s conclusion was never predetermined; that is a lie, and I request the board provide the substantial evidence it claims to have that the conclusion for demolition of Panther Arena and construction of a convention hotel was predetermined,” responded Brooks in the claim. Brooks further claims that Gary Witt‘s public statements that Brooks predetermined the study have negatively impacted Witt’s own business by allowing Live Nation to recruit more business to its new venue.

6. Brooks alleges Jim Kanter and Greg Marcus reacted poorly to convention hotel study

Brooks, in his claim, alleges then-board chair Jim Kanter demanded Brooks preview the Hunden Partners highest-and-best-use study to the board’s governance committee in January before it was publicly released, then reacted poorly to its findings. “At the moment the presenters from Hunden stated the market needed another convention center hotel, the board chairman erupted, insisted the presentation be stopped, did not ask any questions and took control of how the study was to be presented moving forward in an attempt to downplay to any extent possible the recommendation of a convention center hotel,” says the claim.

It is not clear why Kanter, the chief commercial officer at Central Standard Craft Distillery, would oppose the hotel component vehemently. Brooks offers no rationale.

But Brooks didn’t stop at just Kanter.

“The Board should be aware that on Sept. 8, 2025, Mr. Marcus met privately with Mr. Brooks, at which time Mr. Marcus told Mr. Brooks in no uncertain terms that Milwaukee did not need another convention center hotel and if Mr. Brooks pursued one, his legacy would be that Mr. Brooks destroyed the hotel market,” says a footnote in the claim.

7. Brooks’ last day was effectively May 26, not June 8

The claim says Brooks lost all authority to direct employees, initiate expenditures, make personnel decisions and enter WCD properties at 9:38 p.m. May 26. “You can’t get more terminated than that,” says the filing. But the filing also says that for several months, Brooks was being “progressively stripped” of authority and responsibilities. It does not cite specifics, though Brooks in his testimony said he was kept out of the subcommittee review of the Hunden Partners study. “He was president and CEO in name only as a temporary negotiating ploy, and the district hopes a face-saving effort if the matter is leaked to the press,” says the claim.

8. WCD believes it is losing $300,000 under its current lease with the Milwaukee Admirals

One of the things shared publicly for the first time Wednesday was the fiscal impact of the district’s lease for the Milwaukee Admirals to use the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. Brooks, as became public in the Hunden Partners study process, had attempted to line up all arena leases and naming rights agreements to expire before 2030, which led Ald. Robert Bauman to previously charge that Brooks did have plans to tear down the arena. But Brooks, in his speech and in his claim, says he was being a prudent leader and attempting to fix something he inherited when he was hired in 2018: a losing deal with the Admirals. WCD’s contract to host the Admirals causes it to incur costs that result in at least a $300,000 annual loss. The UW-Milwaukee contract is less problematic, Brooks said.

9. Brooks is alleged to have retaliated against a whistleblower

The $1,000 pairs of shoes were the subject of a whistleblower complaint from an individual who worked directly with Brooks. The individual’s employment ended shortly after the report, and the board alleges that it was a “constructive discharge,” which could expose the district to legal liability. “This claim is fiction,” says the filing on behalf of Brooks. It cites the employee’s resignation letter, which says the worker made a “difficult decision” to take another job. Brooks, in the claim, says he warned the employee earlier that year to stop gossiping.

10. WCD had a three-member team to negotiate a settlement with Brooks

The WCD board elected three members to negotiate with Brooks on a settlement. They were Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride, Milwaukee Comptroller Bill Christianson and restaurateur Omar Shaikh. Joining them was Husch Blackwell attorney Erik Eisenmann.