Known as Miller Park since it opened in 2001, the home of the Milwaukee Brewers will get a new name in 2021.
The Brewers announced recently that the new naming rights sponsor for the stadium will be Madison-based American Family Insurance. The 15-year deal will run through 2036. The new name for the stadium is yet to be determined. The agreement also calls for the Brewers and American Family to collaboratively fund community projects, likely in the area of education, and one focused specifically on refurbishing youth and high school baseball fields.
The $40 million Brewers stadium naming rights deal with MillerCoors LLC expires after the 2020 season.
Financial terms of the new deal with American Family were not disclosed. A statement from Chicago-based MillerCoors said American Family made the Brewers “an incredibly rich offer for the future naming rights of Miller Park.”
MillerCoors products will continue to be served throughout the stadium even after its name is removed from the building.
“We appreciate the historical commitment of MillerCoors and Miller Brewing Co. to Milwaukee, our city, and to our team, and while the naming rights will pass in 2021, we know our relationship with MillerCoors is strong,” said Brewers chief operating officer Rick Schlesinger. “We look forward to the next two years with MillerCoors and we look forward to strengthening our relationship for years to come.”
With the end of the MillerCoors sponsorship agreement nearing, the Brewers approached American Family last summer to discuss the possibility of being the naming rights sponsor for the ballpark, American Family chairman and chief executive officer Jack Salzwedel said.
The stadium naming rights deal is part of American Family Insurance’s plans to dramatically expand its presence in Milwaukee, Salzwedel said. In 2017, the company became the title sponsor for Summerfest and the naming rights sponsor for the main stage amphitheater at Henry Maier Festival Park.
The company also plans to have an office building in downtown Milwaukee in two to three years, Salzwedel said. Multiple sites are being considered for the firm’s Milwaukee office, which could be in a new or existing building, he said.
“(The naming rights for the Brewers’ ballpark) fits with an overall Milwaukee strategy that we have been working on for probably about a year,” Salzwedel said. “It involves building a fairly large building down in the core of the city, and a strategy that includes more jobs, and jobs in the software engineering and data science area. We’ve been working very closely with the mayor to try and look at different sites and opportunities for us in the City of Milwaukee. We announced to our leadership group…that we are committed to building a building, or having a building, in downtown Milwaukee…This (Brewers stadium naming rights deal) is just part of an overall strategy that includes a building, includes employees, jobs, it includes the (ballpark) naming rights, it includes (the) Summerfest (sponsorship). Our commitment to Milwaukee has never been stronger.”
