‘It’s tradition’: Milwaukee Brewers fans brave cold weather, rain to celebrate Opening Day 

On a frigid and rainy afternoon, thousands of diehard baseball fans gathered outside American Family Field to tailgate and celebrate the start of a new season for the Milwaukee Brewers. 

Opening Day is an annual tradition for many fans — some of them skipping work or school — to fill the parking lots outside the stadium before first pitch to grill brats and play catch. But with temperatures in the 30s before first pitch, not too many were doing the latter on Tuesday.

Huddled under a small tent attached to the back of a truck, Laura Brown said she was about to attend her 31st Opening Day in a row in Milwaukee. 

“Hopefully, 31 more. They may have to push me in a wheelchair, but I’ll make 31 more,” Brown said. 

Brown has seen it all in the last three decades, including rain and snow. 

“It’s so nice to know we’re going to go into American Family Field, that’s got a roof over it and we’ll be nice and warm there,” she said. 

Milwaukee resident Larissa Sevcik has been to around 15 Opening Days throughout her life. She and her friends used a giant concrete block to hold down her tent because of the high winds on Tuesday.

“It’s tradition,” Sevcik said. “It’s kind of what we do. We would rather do this than sit at home.” 

The Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins 3-2 Tuesday afternoon in their first home game of the year after winning their first three games in New York against the New York Mets. 

The season is underway months after a stadium funding deal was completed and signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers. That deal will pump over $500 million in public funds for upgrades to American Family Field and also ensures the team stays in the city until at least 2050

“It’s nice to know that we’re going to be here for the next generation of fans,” Rick Schlesinger, Brewers president of business operations, said Tuesday. “It’s a great testament to the brand and the importance of the team to the state and we’re very privileged to be in this market, to have amazing fans not only supporting us through this legislation, but supporting us every game, day in, day out.” 

The team has a new manager for the first time since 2015 this year. Pat Murphy is now at the helm after former manager Craig Counsell took a job with the Chicago Cubs last year.

Last season, the Brewers won the National League Central division but ultimately lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the playoffs. In the offseason, the Brewers signed free-agent first baseman Rhys Hoskins. Twenty-year-old rookie Jackson Chourio, who signed an $82 million deal before playing one game in the Major Leagues, also made his MLB debut last week. 

However, the team traded away Corbin Burnes, one of the better pitchers in baseball over the last few years.

The Brewers have made the playoffs in five of the last six seasons, but the franchise has never won a World Series in its over 50-year history.

Waterford resident John Tom has been coming to Brewers games since 1976, and has attended around 40 home openers. Huddled under a tent before the game, Tom said he thinks the team has a good chance to make it to the World Series this year. But even if they don’t, he said, he’s excited to watch them try.

“Opening Day to me is the excitement of a new season. You love your team and … you always hope they’re going to be awesome to start the year,” Tom said.

Team looks ahead to future projects

In December, Gov. Tony Evers signed into law the bipartisan stadium funding deal. Tuesday morning, Schlesinger said the newly-created stadium district board was still working through the details of the new lease. He said that lease should be signed “relatively soon.”

Future maintenance will include repairs to the stadium’s roof, as well as upgrades and repairs to the stadium’s boilers, chillers, broadcast equipment and seating for fans.

“There’s a lot of daily operations and annual things that need to be done, so … the fan’s may not notice, but they would notice if it wasn’t done,” Schlesinger said. 

That deal included plans to winterize the stadium so events can be held inside it in colder months. Schlesinger said that work will likely take two years to complete.

“We’d love to host more basketball games, hockey, wrestling. If there’s concerts that come in the winter, we’d love to do that … so we’re open to a lot of different things,” he said. “There’s no shortage of opportunities, and I think no shortage of demand for those opportunities.”