Packers plan for new parking

ASHWAUBENON - As work continues on the expansion of Lambeau Field's south end zone, some nearby neighbors will soon be seeing the construction move even closer.

“I'm happy that they are expanding,” said Chad Van Vonderen, who lives near Lambeau Field. “I just wish they were a little more forthcoming with what their plans are for the neighborhood.”

Van Vonderen is one of about 70 Lambeau area residents who met with the Packers earlier this year about new plans for the neighborhood.

The Packers told the group the team is asking the village of Ashwaubenon to rezone nine parcels of land the organization owns next to the stadium parking lot. The request would switch the land from a single family residence district to a public use district.

“We don't have any plans for any kind of commercial development,” said Aaron Pokey, a team spokesperson.

The Packers want to rezone the land to build a new parking lot for media vehicles. The expansion of Lambeau Field's south end zone is taking over the current media parking. To build the new lot, the team plans to tear down two of the four houses it owns in that area.

The people currently living in one of the homes have been renting the house the past two and a half years from the Packers. They say the Packers gave them 45 days notice of the plan, which was a stipulation in their lease.

Other home owners in the area say they wonder if or when the Packers will be knocking on their door asking to buy their property to convert to parking space.

“You don't want to add on to the house, you don't want to upgrade any of the windows or anything like that because you don't know if you're wasting your time or money,” said Van Vonderen.

“If the neighbors were interested in perhaps selling, we said let us know, we'd be happy to speak of it,” said Popkey.

One neighbor told FOX 11 he already turned down a Packers offer to buy his home and lot for $18 per square foot, which would be about $230,000.

For now, the Packers say their only immediate plan for the area is the new parking.

Ashwaubenon's Plan Commission will take up the Packers' rezone request tomorrow night. If it approves the request, the next step would be a public hearing.