American Family Field-Mixed Development Update

[Brewcrew82]

So, the study commission instituted when the renovation funding deal went through has come out with its report. Basically, three options presented at varying locations around the ballpark. Each a mix of housing, retail, and office space. 

Think the Brewers and the Stadium District would be wise to follow through. You don't need all the parking. And the Packers have proven that this sort of concept can coexist alongside tailgating. With Komatsu in the process of being demolished, there's clear economic development and revenue opportunities that would make Am Fam more of a year round destination. 

https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2025/11/12/see-brewers-options-to-develop-land-around-their-stadium/

[liveforoctober]

I can't and won't speak on the logistical side of what would need to be done. From a bird's eye view this seems to be the way things are trending for any team across all sports that has the space to create this type of destination. It especially seems appropriate for an MLB team that hosts 81+ big league events each year compared to an NFL team that holds 8+.

[torts]

have you seen what they've done in Pittsburgh?  It used to be a sea of concrete between PNC Park and Heinz field, and over the last 12 years they've built up half of it (and built garages to account for the loss of parking), and its actually awesome before/after games.  the little star is showing where the old street view sees the football stadium back in 2008.  now theres a giant hotel

 

[JosephC]

The "Deer District" was such a success that all those dumb-dumbs in the city of Milwaukee get to pay an extra 2% sales tax and all those dumb-dumbs in Milwaukee county get to pay an extra 0.4% sales tax on top of the 0.5% they were already paying.

But look out....just think of all that huge tax revenue that will be generated by all these $10 an hour retail and short-order cook jobs!  After all, this will be a year-round destination now, and people from Dallas will be pining to trudge around in the Wisconsin snow in the middle of January for the experience of shopping the American Family Field stadium district.  Wow.

At least Attanasio will make boatloads of money, as he will need it to push the team's opening day payroll to 120 million (which is was in 2019).

[wallus]

I can't be the only one waiting for the expected JoeC rant.... there it is.

[justsomeguy]

1 hour ago, JosephC said:

The "Deer District" was such a success that all those dumb-dumbs in the city of Milwaukee get to pay an extra 2% sales tax and all those dumb-dumbs in Milwaukee county get to pay an extra 0.4% sales tax on top of the 0.5% they were already paying.

But look out....just think of all that huge tax revenue that will be generated by all these $10 an hour retail and short-order cook jobs!  After all, this will be a year-round destination now, and people from Dallas will be pining to trudge around in the Wisconsin snow in the middle of January for the experience of shopping the American Family Field stadium district.  Wow.

At least Attanasio will make boatloads of money, as he will need it to push the team's opening day payroll to 120 million (which is was in 2019).

Average pay in Milwaukee for retail workers is over $16, and restaurant workers is closer to $17. My son, a teenager, works at Jimmy John's and makes $18. You might be a little out of touch on current pay rate trends, but please go on...

[SeaBass]

20 hours ago, JosephC said:

The "Deer District" was such a success that all those dumb-dumbs in the city of Milwaukee get to pay an extra 2% sales tax and all those dumb-dumbs in Milwaukee county get to pay an extra 0.4% sales tax on top of the 0.5% they were already paying.

But look out....just think of all that huge tax revenue that will be generated by all these $10 an hour retail and short-order cook jobs!  After all, this will be a year-round destination now, and people from Dallas will be pining to trudge around in the Wisconsin snow in the middle of January for the experience of shopping the American Family Field stadium district.  Wow.

At least Attanasio will make boatloads of money, as he will need it to push the team's opening day payroll to 120 million (which is was in 2019).

Google AI tells me that Milwaukee's 7.9% rate is relatively average or slightly below average for a major metropolitan area.

Nothing to see here.

[homer]

23 hours ago, JosephC said:

The "Deer District" was such a success that all those dumb-dumbs in the city of Milwaukee get to pay an extra 2% sales tax and all those dumb-dumbs in Milwaukee county get to pay an extra 0.4% sales tax on top of the 0.5% they were already paying.

 Is it your contention that leaving the parking lot empty for 3/4 of the year (probably more since it's rarely if ever full for games) is a better use of the land? 

[homer]

On 11/12/2025 at 2:52 PM, torts said:

have you seen what they've done in Pittsburgh?  It used to be a sea of concrete between PNC Park and Heinz field, and over the last 12 years they've built up half of it (and built garages to account for the loss of parking), and its actually awesome before/after games.  the little star is showing where the old street view sees the football stadium back in 2008.  now theres a giant hotel

That's pretty cool. I went to a Packer game there in 2009. I didn't realize they had built so much since then.

[RobertCrawley]

I’ve always wondered why that area south of the stadium on 59 isn’t developed into a restaurant and bars, maybe a hotel. It feels a little rundown there right now. Maybe it’s too far for people to walk from there to the stadium.

[Samurai Bucky]

On 11/13/2025 at 11:17 AM, JosephC said:

The "Deer District" was such a success that all those dumb-dumbs in the city of Milwaukee get to pay an extra 2% sales tax and all those dumb-dumbs in Milwaukee county get to pay an extra 0.4% sales tax on top of the 0.5% they were already paying.

But look out....just think of all that huge tax revenue that will be generated by all these $10 an hour retail and short-order cook jobs!  After all, this will be a year-round destination now, and people from Dallas will be pining to trudge around in the Wisconsin snow in the middle of January for the experience of shopping the American Family Field stadium district.  Wow.

At least Attanasio will make boatloads of money, as he will need it to push the team's opening day payroll to 120 million (which is was in 2019).

Point of order (and hopefully not treading on a political line)... 

Taxes were recently raised in the City and County of Milwaukee to avoid a fiscal cliff mostly attributed to pensions.

https://reason.org/commentary/public-pension-costs-continue-to-drive-up-milwaukee-taxes

https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2023/07/27/milwaukee-county-approves-0-4-sales-tax-increase-to-avert-fiscal-cliff/

[homer]

9 minutes ago, Samurai Bucky said:

Point of order (and hopefully not treading on a political line)... 

Taxes were recently raised in the City and County of Milwaukee to avoid a fiscal cliff mostly attributed to pensions.

https://reason.org/commentary/public-pension-costs-continue-to-drive-up-milwaukee-taxes

https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2023/07/27/milwaukee-county-approves-0-4-sales-tax-increase-to-avert-fiscal-cliff/

There is more to it, particularly regarding the state, but that's probably as far as we should take the discussion, as it will more than likely veer off into political madness..

[torts]

9 hours ago, homer said:

That's pretty cool. I went to a Packer game there in 2009. I didn't realize they had built so much since then.

Yeah, it's honestly way better than just a flat concrete space, there are hotels, a brewery, a concert venue, couple restaurants and a bunch of office space for our corporate overlords.

[Jim French Stepstool]

On 11/13/2025 at 11:13 AM, justsomeguy said:

Average pay in Milwaukee for retail workers is over $16, and restaurant workers is closer to $17. My son, a teenager, works at Jimmy John's and makes $18. You might be a little out of touch on current pay rate trends, but please go on...

Yeah, I read about the $10 per hour service industry jobs & had to check the date of the post. I thought I was in some kind of time warp where the post somehow pre-dated internet message boards.

[da swedish german]

if it happens i prefer option b where development is split between the north and east lots.

It kind of centralizes the new stuff and leaves the uecker and lots west of helfaer field alone for those who want to traditionally tailgate. I don't know.....I don't like change 😆

[Underachiever]

11 hours ago, homer said:

That's pretty cool. I went to a Packer game there in 2009. I didn't realize they had built so much since then.

Oh man, I was at that freezing cold game as well. Drove all the way to Pittsburgh to see them lose on the last play of the game after a 12-play, 86-yard drive in 2 minutes. 

Good thing I am over it.

[owbc]

How many MLB stadiums are left with a sea of parking lots, minimal transit access, and minimal walkable amenities? Kauffman and Dodger Stadium are the only two that I can think of. 

I wish the Brewers would have moved their corporate offices to this development rather than the ugly renovation that takes away seating. 

The options are interesting. A is pretty cool with the river-focused development. B preserves the view of the stadium from the highway. C is the most stadium-focuses + visibility for the businesses from the highway, with the tailgating area on the east side of the river. If I was going to open a business I would strongly prefer C because of the I-94 visibility and proximity to the stadium. C also removes the flood concerns with the river. So I would expect that's what will get picked. 

[homer]

3 hours ago, owbc said:

C also removes the flood concerns with the river. So I would expect that's what will get picked. 

Pretty sure the Brewers don't have to do anything. Part of the deal was that they had to do a feasibility study. That's it.

[MrTPlush]

26 minutes ago, homer said:

Pretty sure the Brewers don't have to do anything. Part of the deal was that they had to do a feasibility study. That's it.

They don’t and probably won’t. Parking is a low risk cash cow and doesn’t require tens of millions in buildings. All of which carry various levels of risk.

There are many stadium districts that have seen success, but they are mostly (all?) in downtown areas. AmFam is on an island surrounded by a lot of garbage. 
 

It could be feasible and could work out, but I don’t think it is obvious…and spending tens of millions on it doesn’t make much sense for these investors when there are better opportunities elsewhere.

[homer]

40 minutes ago, MrTPlush said:

They don’t and probably won’t. Parking is a low risk cash cow and doesn’t require tens of millions in buildings. All of which carry various levels of risk.

There are many stadium districts that have seen success, but they are mostly (all?) in downtown areas. AmFam is on an island surrounded by a lot of garbage. 
 

It could be feasible and could work out, but I don’t think it is obvious…and spending tens of millions on it doesn’t make much sense for these investors when there are better opportunities elsewhere.

Yeah most of them are. Off the top of my head, Green Bay, New England, and I guess the Atlanta Braves are not. There may be others, The parking is only a cash cow if it's used and that lot is empty 75% of the year and rarely full during the season. A big reason the Brewers may not develop anything is that they do not have to pay property taxes on the parking lots unless they build something on them. So obviously, the math would have to work in their favor to build something.

[MrTPlush]

4 hours ago, homer said:

Yeah most of them are. Off the top of my head, Green Bay, New England, and I guess the Atlanta Braves are not. There may be others, The parking is only a cash cow if it's used and that lot is empty 75% of the year and rarely full during the season. A big reason the Brewers may not develop anything is that they do not have to pay property taxes on the parking lots unless they build something on them. So obviously, the math would have to work in their favor to build something.

Not often talked about, the Brewers have zero financial ties to the area. It’s a huge negotiation tactic any time a new stadium deal is needed. They could literally get up and leave with no issue. That is a different story if you pour $750mil into the land around it. That space isn’t downtown where you could probably offload it to recoup any costs. It all becomes awkward real estate that no one would want.

 

 

[RobertCrawley]

What’s the horrible smell around the stadium during construction?

[rickh150]

Why not hook the hotel/restaurants/business to the stadium? Skywalk makes sense…keep it a year around focus…keep added places right next to the stadium. Park once.

[torts]

On 11/14/2025 at 7:18 PM, torts said:

Yeah, it's honestly way better than just a flat concrete space, there are hotels, a brewery, a concert venue, couple restaurants and a bunch of office space for our corporate overlords.

Just saw this photo of Pittsburgh from the 70s, look at that 🤣 three rivers concrete jungle 

[homer]

On 11/18/2025 at 4:25 PM, homer said:

Yeah most of them are. Off the top of my head, Green Bay, New England, and I guess the Atlanta Braves are not. There may be others, The parking is only a cash cow if it's used and that lot is empty 75% of the year and rarely full during the season. A big reason the Brewers may not develop anything is that they do not have to pay property taxes on the parking lots unless they build something on them. So obviously, the math would have to work in their favor to build something.

I was wrong. Even if they build something they still don't have to pay property taxes on it