Milwaukee Brewers Foundation

Lore & Background

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. 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.

Reader's Guide

American Family Field features North America's only fan-shaped convertible roof, which can open and close in less than 10 minutes. Large panes of glass allow natural grass to grow, augmented with heat lamp structures wheeled out across the field during the off-season. The stadium opened in 2001 at a cost of $392 million. Between 1996 and 2020, taxpayers paid $609 million for the construction costs through higher sales taxes.

In 2023, Wisconsin lawmakers entered into an agreement with the Milwaukee Brewers to spend nearly half a billion dollars of public funds on stadium renovations. 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 project was completed by the start of the 2007 season.

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. 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.

The final addition for the 2006 season was the addition of a field-level picnic area in the corner of right-field. In 2009, American Family Field's outfield was replaced with 'Lo-Mo' Kentucky bluegrass just like the infield was the prior year. During the off-season between 2010 and 2011, the stadium's original centerfield scoreboard was replaced by a full-length and full color Daktronics 1080p HD display board. 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.