It’s been three years, but Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy will finally get a street named after him.
The Ashwaubenon Village Board unanimously approved a measure to name Potts Ave. Mike McCarthy Way, on Tuesday night.
It will still be some time until the name change becomes official, however. You see, businesses located on Potts Ave. need to be compensated for the costs associated with changing their invoices and shit like that. The Packers, rightfully so, look like they will be footing some of that bill. The village is in negotiations with them.
Currently, the name change is expected to become official in about a year, although the Packers willingness to fork over some dough could speed that up.
Ultimately, Mike McCarthy Way will run between Oneida Street and Ashland Avenue.
The name change is something that was first proposed by Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt back in 2011, after the Packers won the Super Bowl. The idea died a slow death multiple times because of local politics (and businesses) before arriving at its current solution. The last proposal had Mike McCarthy way running through Green Bay, Ashwaubenon and De Pere. That solution not only had to be approved by three municipalities, but affected a lot more businesses.
At any rate, it’s done. We’ll never quite understand why everyone was so eager to name a street after an active coach. Lombardi Ave. wasn’t so named until 1968, the year after Vince stopped coaching the Packers. Holmgren Way, however, came into existence in 1997, two years before Mike jumped ship for Seattle.