MADISON - The Wisconsin State Assembly voted Tuesday to spend $250 million in public funds on a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks.

No one spoke against the measure, which passed on a bipartisan 52-34 vote as Bucks coach Jason Kidd and team president Peter Feigin watched from the gallery. They made the rounds before and after the roughly hourlong debate, posing for pictures with both lawmakers and members of the public.

The vote was bipartisan mainly because Milwaukee area Democrats supported it. Legislators from the northern half of the state were less supportive, especially around Green Bay. Similar Lambeau Field upgrades for the Packers were paid for by a Brown County sales tax.

"The Bucks will not only remain home in Wisconsin, but we'll soon begin a transformative economic development project that will help revitalize our community and region," Feigin said in a statement issued by the team.

The bill, which passed the Senate on a bipartisan 21-10 vote earlier this month, now heads to Gov. Scott Walker for his signature. Walker, a Republican presidential candidate who was campaigning in Philadelphia at the time of the vote, has been working with lawmakers to reach a deal and was expected to sign it.

Walker called it a "good deal all the way around" while speaking with reporters at Pat's King of Steaks, one of two Philadelphia cheesesteak institutions he visited Tuesday.

Assembly Democratic Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) said on the Bucks Arena deal:

“My goal was to get the best deal possible for workers and taxpayers of Wisconsin – and I believe this deal does that," said Barca. “Making sure that Milwaukee remains a major-league city helps all of us and I am confident that the arena project will serve as a catalyst for economic development, investment and job creation for people in southeastern Wisconsin."

Rep. Dana Wachs (D-Eau Claire), who voted in support of this proposal, said after the vote:

“Coming from Eau Claire, I’ve seen firsthand what infrastructure development can do for a city. Downtown Eau Claire is now filled with building projects either directly or indirectly dependent upon the Confluence Project. The Arena in Milwaukee will do the same for our flagship city. Over $500 million of private development money will flow into downtown Milwaukee because of the state’s investment of $80 million."