Brewers survey fans on American Family Field's future, new amenities
MILWAUKEE - It's their home for the next 25 years, and now the Milwaukee Brewers are asking fans what they should do to make American Family Field better.
Imagine handing your keys to a valet to park your car, or skipping the tailgate for some live entertainment outside the stadium. Those are just some of the concepts the Brewers are asking fans to consider.
For the third time in a week, the Johnson family is back at American Family Field. And Jonna Johnson said part of the reason they keep coming back is the all-around entertainment at an affordable price.
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"Definitely fell in love with going to Brewers games with my husband and kids," Jonna Johnson said. "It's just a great place to take the family. The kids especially love the games in the beginning. Like, my son likes to throw the ball as hard as he can. My daughter likes to hit, so those activities plus just like the energy of a baseball game. There's nothing better than a day at a park."
American Family Field
Now the Brewers are looking to make their park even better. The team is surveying select fans on a handful of renovation concepts. The most notable is a year-round, live entertainment venue outside the field.
Gregory Mann and his season ticket partner Randall Nerby are on board, so long as it doesn't interfere with sacred traditions.
"I think that would be a great idea, because this ballpark is so big, this parking lot is so huge," Mann said. "It's a lot of real estate that sits empty when there's not a game."
"Just don't take up so much of the parking that people feel like they can't go and do traditionally what they have done," Nerby said.
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The concepts also include premium seating ideas, like a club with theater-like seats and TVs, something Johnson said wouldn't be worth it for her.
"I think sitting in there, elbow to elbow and chanting, is really what it's all about, so I think having your own TV would kind of take away from it a little bit," Johnson said.
The Brewers and the Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District, which owns the park, would likely share some of the cost of whatever the team decides to do.
The lease requires the Brewers to pay for discretionary projects, but it does include a clause that requires the district to keep American Family Field in the top 25% of all MLB parks.