With the Bucks now bringing fans back into the fold at Fiserv Forum, the Brewers are on deck for figuring out what to do with fans at American Family Field during a pandemic – and reportedly the team has submitted its plan to the City of Milwaukee.
As first reported by JSOnline, the Brewers are pitching 35 percent capacity – approximately 14,500-16,000 fans – for the team's opening day game against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday, April 1. The hope is to grow that number as the season goes along with the help of increased vaccinations, a good COVID plan and American Family Field's ability to serve as an open-air stadium with both the roof and the retractable side panels.
Few specifics from the Brewers' 350-page plan submitted to the Milwaukee Health Department have been officially reported, but Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger alluded to strategies including the retractable roof and panels, socially distanced ticket "pods" similar to Fiserv Forum's current Bucks plan, mandatory masks save for when directly eating food or drinking in one's seats, a new ventilation system and other preventative protocols.
And, of course, tailgating has been a part of the considerations in the plan, as well, with Schlesinger telling the JS that "your immediate family right by your car is what we're suggesting as an appropriate benchmark."
The Brewers are expected to take City of Milwaukee health officials on a tour of the stadium and its COVID-19 prevention plans next week, with the hope of getting the OK before the end of February and taking a month to plug the requisite systems and protocols before opening day – what would mark the first Brewers home game with fans in the stands since September 2019. The team played all of last year's truncated 60-game season – the final one inside the now-renamed Miller Park – without fans.
As for tickets, first priority would reportedly go to season ticket holders who renewed last year, with individual game tickets expected to be available as well. Healthcare and frontline workers are also expected to be invited in the early going as the team's guests. More information will come depending on the status of the Brewers' pending COVID-19 plan.
Stay tuned to OnMilwaukee for more updates.
As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.
When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.
