Milwaukee Brewers fans brought high energy and excitement to welcome postseason baseball back to American Family Field Tuesday night.
A crowd of 40,892 people packed the stadium on an 80-degree night for Game 1 of the the National League Wild Card Series, which ultimately saw the Brew Crew fall 3-6 to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The teams will meet again Wednesday night for Game 2 of the best-of-three series.
The MLB playoffs are taking place as the political theater surrounding the future of the Brewers’ stadium continues to play out at the state level. Last month, Republican lawmakers unveiled a plan that would use $600 million in state and local funds — including $400 from the state and $200 from the city and county — for upgrades to American Family Field. Under this plan, the Brewers would chip in $100 million and extend their lease to 2050 from its current 2030 expiration. It counters the plan Democratic Gov. Tony Evers proposed earlier this year to use $290 million of the state’s budget surplus to fund future stadium improvements and keep the Brewers here through 2043.
Local officials are now pushing back on their funding share, which would be about $5 million a year for the county and $2.5 million a year for the city. The deal will ultimately be determined by the Legislature and Evers, and will likely need bipartisan support.
