Are the Milwaukee Brewers Losing Their Fans?

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.