American Family Field

History

American Family Field was one of the largest construction projects in Wisconsin history. It was built with US$290 million of public funds from a 0.1% sales tax that began January 1, 1996, and ended on March 31, 2020. The tax was applied on purchases in Milwaukee County and four surrounding counties: Ozaukee, Racine, Washington, and Waukesha. The tax was controversial, in part because of the notion of using public funds for a privately owned sports team. The state senator who cast the deciding vote in the funding bill, George Petak of Racine, lost a recall election based on his vote for the stadium.

On November 9, 1996, groundbreaking took place in a parking lot behind County Stadium. Originally scheduled to open in 2000, American Family Field's construction was delayed after three construction workers were killed in an accident on July 14, 1999. A Lampson Transi-lift crane (nicknamed "Big Blue") brought in to build the roof collapsed while lifting a 450-ton roof section during windy conditions. A camera crew was filming construction of the stadium on that day and captured the collapse on video as it occurred. Repair work and an investigation forced the Brewers to stay in County Stadium for one more year, until 2001. There was some talk of having the Brewers move to American Family Field in the middle of 2000, but it was determined that too many issues would need to be resolved for it to be a realistic possibility.

The stadium was previously called Miller Park as part of a $40 million naming rights deal with Miller Brewing Company which expired at the end of 2020. Madison-based American Family Insurance purchased the naming rights in a new 15-year deal.

Structural challenges

The unconventional fan-shaped retractable roof has not been without complications. Major elements of the pivot system behind home plate and the outfield roof track have been replaced, even after the crane incident.

At the end of the 2006 season, the roof's bogie system was replaced at a cost of over $13 million. The 10 new, 24 ft, 60 hp bogies were paid for with money from the settlement between the stadium district and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of America. Six of the bogies weigh 66 ST, while the four others weigh 49 ST. The work was completed by lifting sections of the roof approximately 6 in with Enerpac hydraulic lifts, while a 300 ST crane replaced the bogies individually. "The bogies will last for the life of the facility," said Mike Duckett, executive director of the then named Miller Park stadium district. The project was completed by the start of the 2007 season.

Additions

In time for the 2006 season there were three additions to the stadium. Two sets of LED scoreboards were added. One replaced the formerly manually operated "out of town" scoreboards along the left and right field walls with a new set of LED scoreboards along the left-field wall. The new "out of town" scoreboards show the score of every Major League game on that day. A second-tier marquee scoreboard was also added along the bottom of the 300-level of the stadium stretching from foul pole to home plate to foul pole, with the portion closest to the foul lines used to provide open captions of announcements from the public address system and advertisements. The section of the second-tier scoreboard above home plate displays statistics for those unable to see the main scoreboard above the center-field wall. The final addition to American Family Field for the 2006 season was the addition of a field-level picnic area in the corner of right-field. The picnic area has a capacity of 75 and provides a place for fans to watch the game in a leisurely setting and be within feet of the right-fielder. Known first as the Mercedes-Benz Field Haus, the picnic area's name was changed to AirTran Airways Landing Zone in 2009, and to the ATI Club in 2012. In 2017, due to a contract dispute between ATI and the Brewers, it was apparently billed as the Right Field Patio until gaining its sponsorship as the Aurora Health Care Bullpen in 2018.

In 2009, American Family Field's outfield was replaced with "Lo-Mo" Kentucky bluegrass just like the infield was the prior year. The new turf, common in other ballparks around baseball, is denser and has a sand base, instead of the sand and clay mix under the original grass. The turf yields truer hops and fewer instances in which the baseball skips under an outfielder's glove than the previous turf.

During the off-season between 2010 and 2011, the stadium's original centerfield scoreboard (a smaller videoboard atop a larger black and amber message display board) was replaced by a full-length and full color Daktronics 1080p HD display board which was the ninth-largest screen among MLB stadiums as of 2012, along with a public address/sound system upgrade. By 2023, the relative screen size had dropped to 20th among the 30 MLB teams.

In late 2023, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers signed into effect a bill totaling $500 million of taxpayer money to allow for repairs, ensuring the team remains in Milwaukee until 2050, despite threats of relocation by MLB. Debuting in the 2024 season, American Family Field had many renovations done with the most notable changes being in center and right field, with a 12,077 square feet board in center, and a 2,840 square feet board in right. The Brewers partnered with ANC in order to provide the 8mm LED displays. The center field board ranks 3rd in the majors for overall size behind the New York Mets and Cleveland Guardians. The new center field board is over double the size of the old board at 5,940 square feet. LED displays were also added on the dugout and behind home plate. The 3rd Street Market Hall, a popular food hall and event venue in downtown Milwaukee, opened with four restaurants in the right field loge level. These vendors include: Kompali Tacos, Smokin' Jack's BBQ, Kawa (Asian fusion), and Anytime Arepa (Venezuelan). The team store in left field was also renovated.

The team also announced new parking technology in collaboration with the Interstate Parking Company, based out of Milwaukee. The goal of this partnership is to speed up the time it takes for parking at American Family Field, which can be up to an hour during the busiest times. Visitors may purchase parking in advance at a discounted rate, or may pay when they arrive via QR codes across the stadium grounds. Parking ambassadors aid in the parking process.

Plans for future improvements include a $25 million winterization of the stadium as well as improvements to the roof, elevators, suites, and other parts of the ballpark.

Sensory friendly

In June 2022 the Brewers announced the creation of a quiet area at American Family Field known as a sensory friendly area. The area is equipped with "sensory bags" to accommodate those with sensory processing disorders. The sensory bags contain noise-cancelling headphones, a fidget toy, verbal cue cards, and a weighted lap pad.

Attendance

From the year American Family Field opened in 2001, the Brewers have averaged 31,783 fans per game, or 2,574,423 per season, while placing 11th out of 30 franchises in total attendance, despite having only eight winning seasons through the 2019 season, and having won only two MLB playoff series in just five total series appearances, and having the smallest market size of any Major League city. In 2011, the Brewers set a franchise record of 3,071,373, and beginning in 2004 they have attracted at least two million fans—an ongoing streak of 15 consecutive years, the 12th longest in Major League history. Prior to American Family Field, the previous such consecutive streak in Milwaukee baseball history was four years, from 1954 to 1957. Since 2007, except for the required reduced attendance in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brewers have drawn at least 2.5 million fans in 13 of 15 seasons, and have only had one season (2016), where they did not average 30,000+ fans per game.

Attractions

• Bernie Brewer, the team mascot, has a club house above the left field seats. Following every Brewers home run and victory, Bernie Brewer slides into a home plate shaped platform. (The Kalahari "Splash Zone" was discontinued for the 2012 season). This is different from his old home at Milwaukee County Stadium, where Bernie slid into a giant mug of beer in center field which had been sponsored over the years by Pabst, Miller, and Sentry Foods. During the home run celebration, a short burst of fireworks is shot out from the top of the center field scoreboard, and above Bernie's club house, the call words of Brewers' radio announcer Bob Uecker are illuminated, "Get Up, Get Up, Get Outta Here, Gone!"
• The Hank the Dog mascot made his debut on September 13, 2014. Hank the real dog was found wandering the field at the Spring training complex in Maryvale, Arizona, on February 17, 2014. He was named after former Brewer and Braves great Hank Aaron. He would soon become an international sensation.
• The Barrelman mascot made his debut on April 6, 2015. The barrelman served as the team's primary logo from 1970 to 1977.
• The Johnsonville Sausage Race occurs during each game in the middle of the 6th inning; it was moved from the bottom of the 6th inning to enable the sausages to create more excitement for the fans as the Brewers prepared to bat. The current "racing sausages" are the Bratwurst, the Polish, the Italian, the Hot Dog and the Chorizo. The chorizo sausage (to salute the region's growing Latino population) was added on July 29, 2006, for one race, and became a full-time participant in 2007.
• During the 7th inning stretch, in addition to "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", fans at American Family Field sing "Roll Out the Barrel", in salute to Milwaukee's beer-making history.
• The Brewers have also set statues of legendary Milwaukee players Robin Yount and Hank Aaron outside the front entrance of American Family Field, as well as a statue of former team owner and MLB commissioner Bud Selig and one for Brewers longtime radio broadcaster Bob Uecker. An additional sculpture of Uecker was added to the highest point of seats in the ballpark, in reference to Uecker's famed Miller Lite commercial where he says, "I must be in the front row", and he is placed at the highest point of the ballpark instead.
• Another sculpture, Teamwork by Omri Amrany, honors three Iron Workers Local 8 members killed during the construction of the stadium.
• Helfaer Field is a youth baseball facility located outside American Family Field. The infield is laid out upon the former footprint of the County Stadium infield, albeit in smaller Little League-compliant dimensions. The groundbreaking ceremony was held in August 2001. It was named in honor of the Evan and Marion Helfaer Foundation, which was founded in 1974. Evan Helfaer was an original investor in the Brewers.
• The American Family Field Walk of Fame was created in 2001 to honor both the Milwaukee Brewers and the Milwaukee Braves. It is located outside American Family Field on the plaza near the home plate entrances. Its most recent additions were former Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder in 2022, starting pitcher Ben Sheets in 2023, and outfielder Ryan Braun in 2024.
• The Brewers Wall of Honor was created in 2014 to commemorate Brewers players, coaches and executives who meet a set criteria based on service to the club or career accomplishments. It is located outside American Family Field on an exterior wall near the Hot Corner entrance. Brewers TV announcer Bill Schroeder became the 59th honoree on July 17, 2015.
• The Selig Experience is an exhibit to honor former Brewers owner and retired MLB commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. It opened on May 29, 2015.

Notable events

Baseball

On opening day April 6, 2001, President George W. Bush and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig had first pitch honors for the stadium. The park hosted the 2002 MLB All-Star Game, which ended infamously in a tie.

Non-Brewer games

In April 2007, a heavy snowstorm in northern Ohio caused the Cleveland Indians to postpone their home opening series against the Seattle Mariners and forced the Indians to find a different location for their home series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Major League Baseball took advantage of American Family Field's roof and moved the Indians-Angels series to Milwaukee. All seats were sold for $10 apiece, and attendance was 52,496 for the three games. The Indians took two out of three games from the Angels. The series was a reminder to many of the 1989 film Major League, which featured scenes filmed in Milwaukee County Stadium, though the film was about a fictionalized Cleveland Indians team. The first game of the series was played on the same day that the film's "Wild Thing Edition" was released on DVD. When Joe Borowski came in to close for the Indians, the song "Wild Thing" was played over the PA system, in an homage to the film. Also, the Indians' mascot Slider slid down Bernie Brewer's slide following Indians home runs. These games were the first to be played under American League rules in Milwaukee since 1997 (the Brewers' final season in the AL). Some Milwaukee fans commemorated the occasion by making unofficial t-shirts that said, "The Cleveland Indians of Milwaukee; Established 1989, Re-established 2007."

Hurricane Ike's landfall in Houston cut a three-game series between the Chicago Cubs and the Houston Astros to a two-game series and relocated the games to American Family Field on Sunday, September 14 and Monday, September 15, 2008. The park became the first neutral site in Major League history to host a no-hitter when the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano threw the first no-hitter in the history of the park as the Cubs shut out the Astros, 5–0. It was also the Cubs' first no-hitter since Milt Pappas pitched one against the San Diego Padres in 1972. The next day, Zambrano's teammate, Ted Lilly, took a no-hitter into the 7th inning, as the Cubs won, 6–1, sweeping the series in Milwaukee.

Bowling

American Family Field hosted the 2007 United States Bowling Congress Masters finals on Sunday, October 28, 2007. The playing surface was fitted with four bowling lanes for the tournament.

Concerts

Soccer

During the 2014 All-Star break, American Family Field hosted an untelevised international friendly match between Swansea City and Chivas of Guadalajara on July 16, 2014. The soccer pitch was laid out in a first baseline-to-left field configuration, with a narrower width than a standard soccer pitch due to the constraints of the field. The teams played to a 1–1 draw in front of about 31,000 in attendance.

During the 2015 All-Star Break, American Family Field hosted a friendly between Mexican side Club Atlas and English Premier League side Newcastle United on July 14, 2015. Club Atlas won the match 2–1.

After a three-year hiatus, American Family Field once again hosted a friendly match between Mexican sides C.F. Pachuca and Club León. Pachuca won the match 3–1.

Basketball

On November 11, 2022, the University of Wisconsin Badgers hosted a basketball doubleheader at American Family Field called the "Brew City Battle". The event featured the Wisconsin Badgers men's team playing against the Stanford University Cardinal and the Wisconsin Badgers women's team playing against the Kansas State Wildcats. The Badgers beat the Cardinal 60 to 50 in the men's game while they lost 63 to 77 in the women's game against the Wildcats.

Movie premiere

On August 11, 2012, American Family Field hosted an event called "Field of Honor: A Salute to the Greatest Generation". Over 30,000 tickets were sold for the event, which included the premiere showing of Honor Flight, a documentary detailing the Honor Flight movement, where veterans of World War II are flown into Washington, D.C., on commercial flights via donations and non-profit organizations in order to visit the National World War II Memorial in person.

Arctic Tailgate

The Arctic Tailgate is an annual event where fans camp outside American Family Field the day before single game tickets are sold, which is usually the last weekend of February. (It is delayed or moved into the stadium's heated concourse if the temperatures are well below 0 F for the safety of fans.) The tradition is said to have started as early as the 1990s where Brewers fans would try to be the first to acquire tickets for Opening Day. Since 2006, the Brewers have made it an official event, even providing the waiting fans coffee, hot chocolate, and doughnuts in the morning, discounts on tickets for the first week of games in the season, as well as a free lunch consisting of a hot dog, chips, and a soda, eaten in a heated tent afterwards. Over 101,000 tickets were sold for the 2015 Arctic Tailgate.

In film

American Family Field was also a major filming location for the motion picture Mr. 3000, which centered on a fictional Brewers player played by comedian Bernie Mac.

25th Anniversary Alumni Home Run Derby

On July 25, 2025, the Milwaukee Brewers hosted the Alumni Home Run Derby at American Family Field as part of their 25th anniversary celebration of the stadium. The event followed a game against the Miami Marlins and featured former players like Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, and Carlos Gómez. It was contested in a team format led by Braun and Gómez, followed by an individual showdown between Keon Broxton and Corey Hart. Broxton won the derby and recreated Fielder's home run celebration where teammates fell like bowling pins upon his reaching home. Nearly 42,000 people stayed after the game to watch the derby.

Climate

Photo gallery

File:Milwaukee Miller Park brewer satellite view.png|American Family Field, then known as Miller Park, during construction on March 31, 2000. Milwaukee County Stadium is adjacent. File:MillerParkStadium.jpg|Exterior view showing retractable roof File:MillerPark2.jpg|American Family Field in 2006 File:Milwaukee Miller Park 2009.jpg|American Family Field in 2009 File:Miller Park panorama, Milwaukee, August 2013.jpg|American Family Field panorama (August 20, 2013) File:St. Louis Cardinals vs. Milwaukee Brewers September 2023 01 (American Family Field).jpg|American Family Field with the roof closed in 2023 File:Miller Park logo.png|Former logo as Miller Park

References

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