Are the Milwaukee Brewers Losing Their Fans?

[Jake McKibbin]

Image courtesy of © Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Brewers' attendance figures have consistently been strong, ranking in the top half of baseball of occupancy rates in 2024 (13th, 75%) despite playing in the smallest market in the majors. The fanbase has maintained a strong connection to their club, heightened particularly in 2018 and 2019—wherein attendance surpassed 35,000 and 36,000 per game, respectively. The fans adored the offensive barrage produced by the likes of Mike Moustakas, Travis Shaw, Yasmani Grandal, and Lorenzo Cain, but most important was the appearance of a superstar: Christian Yelich.

Yelich was undoubtedly the best player in the National League during that two-year stretch. I remember my first time visiting Milwaukee in 2019, seeing every other kid with a pinstriped 22 jersey on his back. Between Yelich And Giannis Antetokounmpo, the sports scene in Milwaukee was buzzing.

The pandemic certainly had an impact on sporting numbers across the board, particularly in 2021. The Brewers rebounded somewhat in 2022-24, averaging a little under 31,000 per game in that time period. Competitive baseball was still front and center in Milwaukee, but they missed the offensive buzz and perhaps the superstar performances of Yelich in his prime. It was an era predicated on dominant pitching from the trio of Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta, alongside a shutdown relief corps led by Josh Hader and Devin Williams. As electric as the pitching was, fans perhaps craved the offensive firepower from the turn of the decade, and resented the tightening of purses that inevitably happened post-pandemic.

This season has started alarmingly. Average attendance across 19 games so far this season has dipped to 26,517. That's a big loss, of almost 5,000 fans per game. For a team that operates in such a small market, gate receipts are a pivotal source of funds for the Brewers.

Let's put that in the context of some financial outcomes. The average ticket is roughly $45, meaning the loss of ~5,000 seats per game over 81 games comes to over $18 million in possible lost revenue. That doesn't include the concessions purchased in the stadium, on which the Brewers would have a tidy markup as well, nor the effect this can have on all sorts of negotiations regarding advertising and stadium rights that occur in the future. Lower visibility equals lower revenue.

The Brewers already operate with a tight payroll. To take what is possibly close to $20 million off of it would leave them close to the $90-million range (like the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Tampa Bay Rays), rather than the $115-million range with the Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds. It would be akin to taking Rhys Hoskins out of this lineup and replacing him internally on a pre-arbitration contract. That's not to say they can't replace things internally, but the Brewers can ill afford to lose their available funds of money to acquire free agents in their competitive windows.

Above are the top 12 teams for lost attendance thus far in 2025. The Brewers rank 8th in average attendance per game lost, as well as the change in occupation rate (taking into account the overall size of the stadium). However, they actually rank, in terms of average attendance, exactly where they did in 2024. 

The company of those who have lost such high levels of fans is an ignominious one. Being associated with teams whose fanbases feel kicked in the teeth at the lack of investment they've had—such as the Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals (who have confessed to a rebuild year), Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Baltimore Orioles. The Tampa Bay Rays can be excused, as they've been hamstrung by a smaller stadium.

Most of these teams' fanbases feel they have the ability to compete for the playoffs, but haven't had the investment and backing to make that final leap. The one who stands out is the Cleveland Guardians, who currently sit 20-14 in the AL Central and have tons of exciting players, from Emmanuel Clase, José Ramírez, Kyle Manzardo, and Steven Kwan to newer faces like Daniel Schneeman and late-blooming breakouts like Gabriel Arias. Yet, their success is predicated upon the strength of their bullpen, with starting pitching not going deep into games and no one really taking the league by storm offensively. 

They do have a disconnection with their ownership group, the Dolans being quite unpopular due to continual underinvestment in their franchise. They have opportunities to invest more on occasion and have rarely done so, leading to levels of apathy that far exceed what even the most fervent group of Mark Attanasio dissenters would conjure up. 

The Guardians are very similar to the Brewers' template, winning around the margins while bigger markets hunt the bigger, sexier fish in the pond. The truth is, winning games the ugly way by bunting, scrapping, fighting out infield singles and with limited home run output isn't sexy. It doesn't get fans out of their seats, until the latter innings of a tight game. Most of all, it's having an impact on attendance.

This could be counteracted by a few things. First of all, Yelich can still hit dingers, although he is trying to rediscover consistent timing in his swing. Jackson Chourio, if he could learn to work his at-bats and be a more consistent threat to both get on base and force pitchers into his damage zones, could lift off. Several times in 2024, William Contreras went berserk for a month or more. These three hitters could ignite a fire in the Brewers' fandom if they can click, and marry that performance with wins.

Winning baseball is truly the best way to bring fans to the stadium. It isn't the be-all and end-all, but it has a big impact, and the 2025 Brewers haven't been winning games as the fans have come to expect. One other potentially important factor is the weather in April. Far less of a factor in the LA teams, but certainly prevalent on the Northern border, cold temperatures, high winds and heavy rain are not the type of weather that encourages a fan to want to hang out at a baseball game, roof or no. The summer is key for the Brewers in this regard, and as an example, this is hitting the Chicago Cubs, too.

Having the most explosive offense to date, bolstered by the signing of Kyle Tucker and Carson Kelly (alongside the breakout of the blue-haired freak, in Pete Crow-Armstrong), you would anticipate attendance to be on the rise for the Cubs early in April. They have a 22-14 record and are averaging over six runs per game.

In fact, Wrigley Field has seen attendance slightly drop from its average numbers in 2025. They don't have a roof, and are completely exposed to the cold weather, which makes any rebound in the summer likely to be larger than that of the Brewers in American Family Field. They're also less than 1,000 per game down from their 2024 levels, a stark difference from the Brewers.

You'll also note a northern theme in those cities with the biggest attendance drop vs. their full-season average of 2024. Toronto, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Seattle, Minnesota, Baltimore, Pittsburgh: These are not cities that are known for their glorious April weather.

If the Brewers want to maximise their connection with the fans, and bring a greater atmosphere to the ballpark with the hordes, they're going to require something to put some spark into the team. There are several ways this may happen:

• An offensive outpouring from the heart of their lineup
• A big trade to sort the left side of their infield
• Young, high-ceiling talent from their farm system
• Some warm weather as we come into the summer

Fans crave fresh. They crave new. They crave exciting. They crave success. And they adore a nice summer's day. The Brewers have lacked all five early on in 2025, and Mark Attanasio will be well aware of the financial repercussions should this continue.

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[wiguy94]

I'm sorry but you just shouldn't be making a comparison of May 8th attendance average to full season attendance average. If you want to make a comparison it needs to be to attendance numbers at this point in previous years.

Also because you're not from Wisconsin maybe you just aren't as familiar with this but the Brewers are far more of a state team than a Milwaukee team. Brewers play in the smallest metro in the MLB with many people in the Racine/Kenosha area south of Milwaukee being Cubs fans. Early in the season when the weather isn't great and school is in session the Brewers attendance typically doesn't look good. As the school year ends attendance typically starts to improve.

[TURBO]

The Brewers aren't losing fans, the fans will always be there, but people aren't coming to the park for several reasons.

The cost of a MLB game is out of control. like everything else.  Why drop $200 on going to a game when you can watch at home for free.

If they continue to put bad product on the field, people (especially the casual fan) will get tired of paying to see them.  It's that simple.  Who do the Brewers have on their roster that people will specifically pay to see?  It could and will be Chourio we hope, but this year he hasn't been anything special.  He isn't putting butts in the seats alone, so who is?

[sveumrules]

4 minutes ago, wiguy94 said:

I'm sorry but you just shouldn't be making a comparison of May 8th attendance average to full season attendance average. If you want to make a comparison it needs to be to attendance numbers at this point in previous years.

Yeah, quick and dirty I got around a 27K  average for the first 19 home games of 2024.

Attendance doesn’t pick up until schools out and the weather is nicer.

[KCBrewerfan34]

Very sad article 

[Fear The Chorizo]

The answer to the title of this article is pretty simple...

 

 No

[JohnBriggs12]

Fans are being more selective.  Part of the problem is the lineups that Murphy is putting out there in particular on weekday afternoon games.  For instance, I considered going to the series finale vs. the Astros.  When it was clear the pitching matchup was Priester vs. Valdez, and the Brewers had already won the series, I figured, correctly, that Murphy would not be putting his A lineup on the field.  He had done the same thing in the series finale in Chicago the week before, another game I had considered attending.  With the roster as it is, they are not competitive when they don't have their A lineup on the field.  Did I miss something?  Didn't Bauers have 2 huge hits against lefty pitching in the last week?  Yet despite having the hottest bat on the team and being one of the few slug threats on the team, he wasn't in there vs. the lefty on Wednesday.

Fans that follow the team daily have watched a lot of really bad clunkers already this year and even though the record is respectable, it's miserable to go to the trouble of shelling out a lot of money, taking the time to travel to the game and end up watching 9 innings of non-competitive baseball.

[SomewhereInTime]

Yeah April is usually pretty slow

[rickh150]

3 hours ago, TURBO said:

The Brewers aren't losing fans, the fans will always be there, but people aren't coming to the park for several reasons.

The cost of a MLB game is out of control. like everything else.  Why drop $200 on going to a game when you can watch at home for free.

If they continue to put bad product on the field, people (especially the casual fan) will get tired of paying to see them.  It's that simple.  Who do the Brewers have on their roster that people will specifically pay to see?  It could and will be Chourio we hope, but this year he hasn't been anything special.  He isn't putting butts in the seats alone, so who is?

Chourio is the guy and he is arguably hitting better than last year at this time….wasnt he like around .210 at end of May last year. After that he was one of the top 10 hitters in the game.

It’s spring.  Brewers don’t avg 30,000 a night then.  Did they avg 30,000 in April/May in 2008, 2009, and 2011 (3 million fan years)?  Price is keeping me home a bit more, yet I have been to 3 games. I think we should be 2.5/2.6 mill again.  
 

[rickh150]

Answering my own question…2008 they were around 33,000 a night in April/ May. Weekend crowds were sellouts or close.

[Brian]

3 hours ago, TURBO said:

If they continue to put bad product on the field, people (especially the casual fan) will get tired of paying to see them.  It's that simple.  Who do the Brewers have on their roster that people will specifically pay to see?  It could and will be Chourio we hope, but this year he hasn't been anything special.  He isn't putting butts in the seats alone, so who is?

The blah factor kills a small market team.  Heck Nashville has a larger population than Milwaukee by about 150,000 people in 2025. Winning and in the division hunt is the excitement, then we fill the stands.

[BrewerFan]

Are the Milwaukee Brewers Losing Their Fans?

 

[biedergb]

Losing their fans- no. I think this is a pretty resilient fan base.

Fan base attention? Sure to some degree, as the team has not grabbed the reigns and competes with the Cubs who jumped out of the gate, and the Reds are dangerous, and the Cards show life. Plus the wild card will almost certainly go to teams in the East or West with little competition from teams in the Central,  so it feels like division or bust early  

Is attendance going to decrease? That could be very likely.  But that can be do to a multitude of things that may affect multiple teams - such as economic forces (still lingering pinch of years of inflation, coupled with uncertainty about the next year or two), access to sports (ie streaming), competition (NHL/NBA playoffs, the 13 month NFL season, increased interest in soccer, golf, racing sports) all have affected the average fan’s ability and or willingness to go to games live.  For the Brewers, an auspicious start (which was made worse by national media covering their 0-3 start to the Yankees) and the lack of real investment in the teams payroll despite losing big name players (Burnes, Hader, Williams and Adames) have not helped.

I would imagine like many who posted above that the attendance will pick up, but I do worry there could be a dip after a few years of rising due to cyclical factors and the economic factors that may affect MLB as a whole (even if it is like everything in MLB uneven where NY, LA for example may see attendance rise while many markets see it fall)

[Outlander]

They will probably end up around where they were last year and the year before. Will be difficult to get to 2008/2011 levels because those were the first playoff teams in around 25 years. Average attendance over the Miller Park/AmFam years has been approximately 31,900 excluding the two COVID years. Unless they are serious World Series contenders, which they are not, they likely won't see an uptick.

[Paul]

Expenses, expenses, expenses!  I am on fixed retirement income and will not pay the $$$ for parking, admissions, and concessions to watch a team so heavy with AAA players.  Yelich is washed up, we need a F who can hit, a SS and a 3B.  Time for management to wake up.  
 

[Paul]

F - I meant CF

[LouisEly]

No mention about the possible effects of inflation, worries over future inflation caused by tariffs, and general future economic uncertainty.  Lots of people cutting back on expenditures now due to the uncertainty.  Lots of layoffs of federal government employees and federal government contractors.  Lots of people pulled forward big expenses (e.g. vehicles, home improvement, electronics, etc.) to try to get ahead of possible tariffs, increasing expenses YTD and thus decreasing discretionary income.

[Ron750]

Last year when  I realized Freeman, Betts and Ohtani made more than the entire Brewers payroll, I decided to stop getting emotionally involved in hoping to win a WS. I was ok with just enjoying watching successful, gritty regular season small ball. 
But having a player on the roster hitting .074 makes it hard to take this team seriously. It’s nice that they gave him a chance, but no contender would have kept him this long. Then going to  a game where a can of domestic beer is $16, becomes a sacrifice that isn’t worth it. 

[wallus]

1 hour ago, Ron750 said:

But having a player on the roster hitting .074 makes it hard to take this team seriously. 

Is someone going to tell him?

[brewers888]

This team is boring so its quite understandable if people would rather not spend money on a powerless lineup with the worst left side of the infield imaginable.

[Brian]

It takes a physical discipline to watch games as of late. 

[ClearWaterWI]

This team lacks spark in 2025 and hasn’t been able to win a game in which they’ve been scored on first. I’m not going to sit through another brutal 8 to 1 loss.

[Underachiever]

I’m still going. Been to two already, have tickets for three more. Got in on the $5 tickets against the Astros on Monday. I look for deals, make it an outing with friends and family. It’s a bit of a drive from Madison, but I know the game will happen. Got the football jersey, will chase down the cribbage board on Saturday. If I lived closer I’d get the ballpark pass. I wish they weren’t 3-9 with me in attendance since last season, but the Brewers haven’t lost me.