As Brewers plan to fully open, the team expects to create 3,000 jobs at American Family Field
Ricardo Torres
As the Milwaukee Brewers plan to ramp up capacity at American Family Field to 100% on Friday, the team is also expecting to have a major impact on the local economy.
In a letter sent to Gov. Tony Evers and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Brewers President of Operations Rick Schlesinger said the organization expects to create more than 3,000 jobs at the ballpark.
"The 3,000 expected jobs this year are part of a far broader, multi-billion-dollar economic impact that is being restored after COVID idled the ballpark and left it unable to accommodate fans for the 2020 season," Schlesinger wrote. He thanked government officials for their help in getting to full capacity.
According to the letter, roughly 1,300 jobs are direct Brewers employees, including seasonal workers. Another 1,200 employees are subcontractors that operate concessions and walk the aisles with beer and soda. Other jobs include the Brewers Community Foundation for the 50/50 raffle and third-party workers like law enforcement, health care workers, cleaning and parking services.
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"These 3,000 jobs make Milwaukee Brewers baseball possible and show what a powerful economic engine American Family Field is for the state of Wisconsin and its communities," Schlesinger said. "They also demonstrate why having professional baseball in Milwaukee has created billions of dollars in statewide economic impact over the years, it is hard to imagine a better way to encourage economic recovery from COVID than to have fans in the stands again."
In the letter, Schlesinger cited an early 2020 Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce study that stated the economic output of the ballpark is roughly $2.5 billion and estimated these jobs have accounted for $1.2 billion in personal earnings since the ballpark's construction.