The Brief
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The Milaukee Brewers are required to spend $50 million on upgrades under a 2023 funding deal but have already invested at least $10 million.
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Recent improvements include a $4.5 million broadcast control room, Food Truck Alley and new team offices.
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Upcoming renovations will winterize the stadium, opening it up to concerts, basketball, wrestling and possibly college football.
MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Brewers are one win away from clinching the National League’s top seed, but their long-term battle hasn’t just been on the field.
American Family Field improvements
What we know
The laws that Gov. Tony Evers signed sent $500 million in taxpayer money toward improvements at American Family Field. That will be paid out through 2050.
American Family Field, Milwaukee
Nearly two years later, the Brewers are already exceeding their own investment requirement for upgrades.
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One of the first projects was a new broadcast control room.
Upgrades being made
What they’re saying
Brewers President of Business Operations Rick Schlesinger said the $4.5 million upgrade, split with the ballpark district, replaced outdated Triax with fiber-optic technology.
“Frankly, I used to worry about the degradation of the signal and interference with the signal, not just from weather, just from the fact that the Triax cable was so antiquated,” Schlesinger said. “We wanted the state-of-the-art equipment to make sure the broadcast quality both for local broadcasts and national broadcasts was first-rate.”
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It’s just one of the several investments made after state lawmakers brokered the deal to keep the Brewers in Milwaukee through 2050.
The team has also unveiled Food Truck Alley, the Third Street Market Hall annex, and is preparing to open new baseball operations offices on the right-field terrace level.
Schlesinger said the Brewers have already spent at least $10 million in two years, with more to come.
“I am very comfortable saying that we will far exceed the minimum obligation for the Brewers in terms of funding projects here at the ballpark,” he said.
What’s next
That doesn’t include winterizing the ballpark – which will happen the next two offseasons – so that it can host events year-round.
American Family Field, Milwaukee
Schlesinger said concerts, basketball, wrestling and even college football are possible.
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“You could certainly do concerts. You could do basketball. You could do WWE,” he said. “There’s a lot of different things that go on now, we’re part of the marketplace. We’re part of the ecosystem for winter events.”
Brewers’ backstory
The backstory
The Brewers’ prior lease kept the team in Milwaukee through its 2030 season.
After assessing future capital improvements and the amount of money in the ballpark district’s reserves, the team sought the help of the state government to provide more funding.
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The Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District, a state entity, technically owns the ballpark. Its lease with the Brewers is unique. It’s required to keep the ballpark among the top 25 percent in Major League Baseball. The lease also dictates terms on which side pays for what.
With the five-county sales tax that had helped pay for improvements discontinued, Evers signed laws in December 2023 to extend the Brewers’ lease through 2050 and provide $500.8 million in taxpayer funding for maintenance and upgrades over that span.
The laws also require the Brewers spend $50 million on upgrades over the same timeframe.
The Source
FOX6 spoke exclusively with Brewers President of Business Operations Rick Schlesinger and utilized prior coverage.
