Tailgating is returning to American Family Field
One small step for man, one giant leap for tailgaters.
The Milwaukee Brewers announced Wednesday morning that fans attending games at American Family Field once again will be allowed to tailgate in the parking lots beforehand, beginning with the next home game Monday night against the Chicago Cubs.
During the opening series against the Minnesota Twins, tailgating was prohibited by the City of Milwaukee Health Department as a safety measure to keep people socially distanced during the COVID-19 pandemic. But
the Brewers continued to push for the return of tailgating with the belief that people would be safe outdoors if they tailgate only with those seated in their designated pods in the ballpark.
Attendance will continue to be restricted to 25% capacity in American Family Field, but fans can now fire up their grills beforehand, another step forward with what has become a longtime staple of attending Brewers games.
“Tailgating is a Wisconsin tradition. It is how we begin our day at the ballpark,” Brewers president of baseball operations Rick Schlesinger said. “We have been in regular contact with the City of Milwaukee Health Department and the opening series was operationally sound. With safety protocols and our fans’ diligence, we are now able to bring back tailgating for those within a seating pod.
“We appreciate the fans’ patience as we take another step in our efforts to provide the best fan experience in sports.”
Tailgating will be allowed at single vehicles for those sitting in the same seating pod. Fans will need to remain in the immediate vicinity of their vehicle. Parking gates will open three hours in advance of the game, except for 6:40 p.m. weekday games for which gates open 21⁄2 hours in advance. Only persons ticketed for the event will be permitted in parking lots.
For more information, fans should visit brewers.com/tailgating.
“One of the priorities for our organization was to try to bring a sense of normalcy back to our game experience,” Schlesinger said. “Brewers games without tailgating felt like something was awry in the universe.
“So, we’re very pleased that our health commissioner, Kirsten Johnson, and her team took all of our phone calls and agreed that we could have tailgating back, with the important caveat that people have to tailgate within their seating pod, meaning their group of two, four or six coming to the game.
“Again, our goal for the season is to get complete normalcy and return to full fans and full tailgating and the whole great Brewers experience. But this is a step in the right direction. I would say of all of the issues we’ve faced with our fans in attending games and protocols, this has been topic No. 1.”
As for how the stay-in-your-lane tailgating protocols will be enforced, Schlesinger said, “We’re going to know in the next day or so about parking. Right now, we’ve been parking people side-by-side in the parking lots. If we need to park people in every other spot, it’s certainly easy to do logistically. With the reduced capacity, it’s not a problem to do that.
“As far as enforcement, it’s really not that hard. We have parking attendants and security for all games. I think our fans, by and large, are very respectful of the rules and protocols. Their behavior at the first home stand is reflective to me that they want to do the right thing.
“They understand if they abide by the rules it helps convince everybody to relax those restrictions. So, I’m not worried. Everybody wants a great experience at the ballpark. If they need to be reminded, we will do so.”
The Brewers previously announced an updated seating plan to accommodate more two-person seating pods, highly demanded by fans. Tickets can be purchased at brewers.com, (800) 933-7890 or at the American Family Field box office. All online and phone purchases will be digitally delivered through the MLB app, which gives fans access to download their game tickets, parking passes, order concessions, and access numerous other game information.
Aligned with local health and safety protocols, fans are encouraged to review the evolving guidelines in place at brewers.com/COVID. Tickets are currently on sale for games through May 2. The availability of individual tickets for games scheduled May 11 and beyond will be announced next week, and Schlesinger said he hopes capacity will be increased going forward.
“The combination of more two-person pods and tailgating makes this a much more enjoyable and desirable experience,” said Schlesinger, who was pleased Johnson attended a game Sunday to see how protocols were working.
“We’ve had great results with our ticket purchases. We have tickets available for next week’s games. The Dodgers series later this month is approaching the point where we just don’t have much inventory.
“Based on the trend we’re seeing in sales, I feel comfortable saying every game in April is going to be sold out. The different pod configurations mean every game is going to have a little different attendance number in this unusual environment. But tickets are very coveted. We’re thankful we can do some of these things.
“We’re looking at timelines for when we would put tickets on sale for games after May 2. That’s going to happen sometime this month. We’re going to work and see if we can get an extension of our percentage capacity and loosening of other restrictions. That’s certainly a goal. We understand the situation is fluid.”
Brewers manager Craig Counsell obviously is a bit too busy before games to partake in tailgating, but he grew up in the Milwaukee area, still lives here and fully understands its importance to fans as part of their ballpark experience.
“It’s another sign of normalcy,” Counsell said. “It feels like a safe activity as well. And it feels like part of summer, too. It’s almost symbolic as much as anything for our state and for everybody around. People are getting vaccinated, we’re doing a good job taking care of each other, and things like this that we feel are a part of our summers that weren’t last year, come back.”
“Brewers games without tailgating felt like something was awry in the universe.”
Rick Schlesinger Brewers president of baseball operations