Green Bay Packers News: Titletown District Near Lambeau Field To Open By 2017

Officials from the NFL’s Green Bay Packers unveiled plans Thursday for a commercial district near their Lambeau Field stadium that could cost up to $130 million in private money. Dubbed the Titletown District, the development would include a luxury hotel, sports medicine center, public square complete with ice-skating rink, brewery and more, reports said.

The development will be constructed on a 34-acre plot of land near Lambeau Field, and will also include some residential units. The Packers organization will invest roughly $65 million in the project, while three local companies will contribute a combined $65 million, ESPN reported. The Kohler Company will build a hotel and spa, Bellin Health will craft the sports medicine center, and Hinterland will fund a restaurant and brewery. The Packers posted a virtual tour of the development plan on the team website.

“We see Titletown as an authentic Wisconsin neighborhood that creates new amenities for the region while also offering a distinct living experience and opportunities to attract and retain people in this region,” Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy said at a news conference, Green Bay's WLUK-TV reported.

The Titletown District will allow the Packers to generate a higher amount of team-specific revenue on a year-round basis. The franchise, for instance, will rent out on-site residences, Murphy said. The New England Patriots have a similar district, called "Patriot Place," near their stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, but without an apartment complex or public square, the Associated Press reported.

"So bringing those people over here, it allow us to generate nonfootball revenue that isn't shared with other teams," Murphy said, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. "And I think long-term, it benefits the Packers [in that] the more vibrant the community is, the stronger the community is, the more likely that in the future we'll be able to continue to support a competitive NFL team."

The Packers are the only one of the NFL’s 32 franchises to have public shareholders. As such, the franchise annually divulges financial information to the public, including earnings from the NFL’s leaguewide revenue-sharing program. The Packers are the NFL’s 13^th most valuable franchise, worth an estimated $1.37 billion, Forbes says.

The franchise earned $226.4 million in revenue-sharing in the 2014 fiscal year. Team-specific revenue stood at $149.3 million -- a $12.9 million increase from 2013, CBS Sports reported. NFL franchises split more than $7 billion in total revenue last year.

The Packers will seek approval from local officials before starting construction on the Titletown District. The development is slated to be open to the public by fall 2017.