Brewers home opener will bring back hundreds of employees
Thursday’s Milwaukee Brewers Opening Day will mark more than just the return of fans to the ballpark.
It also means hundreds of ticket takers, beer vendors and other part-time employees again will be making money.
“We get to bring back a lot of parttime staff, said Rick Schlesinger, president of business operations, during a Friday news media event at American Family Field.
The Brewers typically have 1,200 to 1,300 part-time employees during the Major League Baseball season.
Those jobs vanished last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the ballpark opening at 25% capacity, a limit mandated by the Milwaukee Health Department, the Brewers will have around 800 to 900 parttime employees, Schlesinger told reporters.
The baseball club expects to see the number of employees increase as the capacity limit rises with more people vaccinated.
“We’re trying to bring that engine back,” Schlesinger said.
The “ultimate goal” is to eventually reach full capacity during the 2021 season, Schlesinger said.
And, while there’s no guarantee, the Brewers also hope to see the Health Department ban on tailgating eventually lifted, Schlesinger said.
For now, American Family Field’s 25% capacity means no more than 12,000 fans for the season opener against the Minnesota Twins.
The Brewers originally wanted the capacity set at 35%, as well as tailgating.
But Schlesinger told reporters he’s not envious of the fact that some ballparks will operate at full capacity on their opening days.
That reflects the reality that such decisions are typically made by local or state officials, he said.
“I look at our situation as this is what we have, and we’ll work with it,” Schlesinger said.
Meanwhile, Schlesinger is hoping fans who want to buy tickets — single game ticket sales started Friday — are patient.
With capacity limits, early games will likely be sold out, Schlesinger said. He’s hoping the Brewers will be allowed to sell more tickets after May 2.
Still, opening day, with Christian Yelich and company back on the field and fans in the stands, is an important symbol of a reviving economy and “returning back to normal,” said Tim Sheehy, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce president.