American Family Field may add outdoor entertainment area, other features. Brewers surveying fans
The Milwaukee Brewers baseball club is surveying fans about developing an American Family Field outdoor entertainment area and other possible stadium changes.
The survey results could help guide ballpark improvements over the next five to 15 years, said Rick Schlesinger, Brewers president of business operations.
"We're trying to really listen to what the fans want," Schlesinger told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Around 37,000 ticket buyers were surveyed.
The survey, first reported by WISN-TV, seeks fans' opinions on such possible changes as the entertainment area, known as Brewers Bash.
It could include bars, food stands, live entertainment and big screen TVs, and would be developed in the plaza area behind centerfield, Schlesinger said. That's near the pedestrian bridge over Wisconsin Highway 175/Brewers Boulevard to the parking lots.
"That just gives us the most amount of space to work with," he said.
Brewers Bash, which is a preliminary name, would respond to demand for additional pregame outdoor activity space, Schlesinger said.
It could operate throughout the year, he said. That would complement plans to winterize the stadium so it can host concerts and other off-season events from November through March.
AmFam Field changes could include SRO space
The survey also presents several proposed indoor stadium gathering spaces. That includes a terrace-level family zone, a field-level lounge and the Brew HQ Social Patio − a standing room only area.
New social spaces can be found in other Major League Baseball stadiums such as Globe Life Field, which the Texas Rangers opened in 2020, and the remake of Progressive Field, home to the Cleveland Guardians.
Such features are often aimed at younger fans − a key factor to MLB's continued growth.
"The demand for those types of spaces is growing," Schlesinger said.
The Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District is American Family Field's primary owner and is responsible for most of its major maintenance and improvement projects. The Brewers pay for discretionary improvements.
Some of the improvements featured in the survey could be publicly financed.
Funding legislation, signed in 2023 by Gov. Tony Evers, called for $365.8 million from the state and $67.5 million each from the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County to pay for renovations over nearly 30 years.
Another $11.4 million will come from surcharges on tickets sold for AmFam Field concerts and other non-Brewers events, with $8.1 million from Brewers logo license plate sales and $35.2 million set aside from the former five-county stadium sales tax.
The Brewers are providing $150 million, and will extend the lease from the end of 2030 to 2050. The stadium district board last discussed lease negotiations during an Aug. 9 closed session.
The public funding legislation requires the stadium district, working with the city, county and ball club, to study the feasibility of development within AmFam Field's property − which includes around 90 acres of parking lots. A report on that study is due within two years.
No such developments are included in the current fan survey.
Other MLB stadiums have been tied to new hotels, shops, restaurants, entertainment outlets, apartments and other commercial developments.
That includes the Atlanta Braves' Truist Park, which opened in 2017 and is next to The Battery Atlanta, and St. Louis' Busch Stadium, which opened in 2006 and is next to Ballpark Village.
Meanwhile, a new stadium proposed for the Tampa Bay Rays would be tied to the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District.
Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, X and Facebook.
Subscribe to get the BusinessWatch email newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Brewers ballpark could add outdoor entertainment area
