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Not so suite life: Aurora drops luxury boxes

Aurora Health Care is citing the sluggish economy in its decision to drop its luxury boxes at Lambeau Field, Miller Park and the Bradley Center.

Michael Brophy, an Aurora spokesman, told BizJournals.com that the firm dropped its Bradley Center suite in 2009, recently informed the Milwaukee Brewers it would not renew its Founder’s Suite at Miller Park at the end of the 2010 season, and had already decided to let its Lambeau Field suite lease lapse in January 2012.

Aurora, which operates Lakeland Medical Center in Elkhorn as well as clinics in Delavan, Walworth, East Troy and Lake Geneva, also noted the increased spotlight on corporate spending in its decision, however Aurora isn't like most corporations -- it's a non-profit.

It’s status as a charity provider means the organization pays no property taxes, which is raising the eyebrows of some critics in the media.

Michael Murphy of Milwaukee Magazine writes that there have been countless surveys and stories showing that medical care costs more here than in other Midwest cities. Yet tax-exempt Aurora could afford to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per year living the suite life.

Murphy also points out that Aurora Health Care’s CEO Nick Turkal and Chief Operating Officer Donald J. Nestor both earned more than $2 million in 2008.

Aurora has quietly dropped its luxury box leases, and officials seem hopeful to avoid a public relations fallout.

“We decided it was better to spend our money on patient care than a suite,” Brophy was quoted as saying. “It was a difficult decision, but the right thing to do.”