Brewers to announce largest-ever capital project at Miller Park (Latest: multimillion dollar concessions project, post 74)

[MrTPlush]

They are going to finally solve the shadows problem

 

 

Where have you been? They did by just partially closing the roof.

[Bombers]

I would love something similar to the ballpark village they have built in St. Louis. That place is great. An awesome place to watch the game as it sits on top of Bush Stadium. However, that is located in downtown St. Louis with mounds of public transportation to and from. I just don't see how adding in a "ballpark village" is feasible within the current structure of the Miller Park district. We don't have a nearby train stop, we don't have the easy access and people able to just walk up to the "village" ... Would people pay the ~$15 to park to just hang out at a restaurant / bar? I guess I just don't see it. Plus there is actual seating in the ball park village that can see into Busch Stadium. At Miller park, that wouldn't work. Not trying to be a cynic, I like the idea and would love for something like that to happen but I just don't see it. I could see an official tailgate area opening in conjunction with a hotel being built. I think that alone would be a huge win and something long overdue.

[DHonks]

I would not think A/C. I remember hearing from an insider that Miller Park has the capabilities as the proper systems and ventilation were installed during building. The challenge is how do they pull that much moisture and warm air out of that much volume of air, especially given that the roof doesn't seal. I remember hearing it cost $10,000 to open and close the roof each time. For a 10 game home stand in summer, the cost could be over a million dollars. Baseball is meant to be played outside. One thing that would be nice would be if some of the windows behind 1st and 3rd base could be opened to allow for proper cross-ventilation. Additionally, finally tinting the glass would be huge.

[MrTPlush]

uhh don't mess with the glass. That is why we have real grass.

 

Obviously the Brewers can't build a cardinal type ballpark village. I think we all realize that. Their ballpark village costs $650mil which obviously isn't going to happen here. However there is no reason to believe they can't do a Brewer size village. Such a thing could include a tailgating area, hotel, bar/place to eat, etc. to give the outside of the park more life. It would be really nice to see more entertainment outside the ballpark for before games.

[DHonks]

MrTPlush, the open-roof is the reason the grass grows. The grass gets lots of sun throughout the day. The glass panels help give us an airy feeling, but I'm not sure they have any effect on the grass growing as the roof panels and sun angles rarely allow direct light to pour in the panels behind 1st and 3rd except in late afternoon

[1992casey]

When Miller Park opened, I believe the cost of electricity to move the roof was about $20. There's additional cost because employees have to be kept on site to move it. A couple are in the control room, and some are stationed up on the beam. If you heard $10,000, I wonder if that had to do with the cost of heating the ballpark on cold days. I wouldn't be surprised if that number is higher, though.

 

I haven't seen the roof partially closed for a long time. I wonder why that was discontinued. Actually, I wouldn't be against slightly closing the roof on both sides for day games, just enough to provide a little more shade on the third base side. I don't see where that would have any negative impact as County Stadium had a larger roof than Miller Park does. The main reason that newer outdoor parks have smaller roofs isn't due to aesthetics. It's because the smaller roofs eliminate the need for posts to support them. Obviously, retractable roofs have plenty of support. And Miller Park's unique fan design allows for options that other roofs don't have.

[Invader3K]

My guess is some kind of brewery/entertainment venue attached or nearby the park. It's silly that the lack of immediate nearby before and after game dining/drinking options hasn't been addressed over the last 16 years.

[Bombers]

[sarcasm]I got it - I think they are going to finally add cup holders to the 400 level.[/sarcasm]

[dlk9s]

When I look at what has already been done at Miller Park, what has been done at other stadiums, what the current property would allow, the county and municipal regulations, and the possible price tag involved, everything seems to point to a Matt Garza contract extension.

[Baldkin]

I haven't seen the roof partially closed for a long time. I wonder why that was discontinued.

 

I seem to remember something coming out pre-season 2014 or 2015 stating that MLB has banned the practice for fear of abuse. That the roof must simply be "open" or "closed".

 

I might be completely crazy, though. I can't seem to find the article.

[hawing]

[sarcasm]I got it - I think they are going to finally add cup holders to the 400 level.[/sarcasm]

FINALLY.

[pacopete4]

Maybe it is a gold statue of Hank out front of Miller Park?

[Yount19]

What about an atrium like Lambeau Field to host events? They could heat/chill that area..

[Greenleaf1]

When I look at what has already been done at Miller Park, what has been done at other stadiums, what the current property would allow, the county and municipal regulations, and the possible price tag involved, everything seems to point to a Matt Garza contract extension.

 

I absolutely laughed out loud at this.

[CheezWizHed]

MrTPlush, the open-roof is the reason the grass grows. The grass gets lots of sun throughout the day. The glass panels help give us an airy feeling, but I'm not sure they have any effect on the grass growing as the roof panels and sun angles rarely allow direct light to pour in the panels behind 1st and 3rd except in late afternoon

 

I know of a company that makes windows that can tint via an electrical controller. They can go from complete black-out to completely clear. That would be an interesting improvement.

 

Also, most glass blocks UV light (no matter how translucent). The resulting light may still be helpful to the grass, but certainly most of the light is coming from the roof.

[MrTPlush]

MrTPlush, the open-roof is the reason the grass grows. The grass gets lots of sun throughout the day. The glass panels help give us an airy feeling, but I'm not sure they have any effect on the grass growing as the roof panels and sun angles rarely allow direct light to pour in the panels behind 1st and 3rd except in late afternoon

 

The window panels are for the grass to grow properly. Some direct sunlight is better than none. Depending on the season decides how much direct sunlight it gets, but it gets a decent amount daily. Now with today's technology could they put the pretty lights on it every night to get it to grow? Possible, but that wasn't a big thing in 2001. If you search it you will find articles talking about how important this was for them to have natural grass.

 

Doesn't matter though. They wouldn't invest millions of dollars to avoid shadows that both teams deal with occasionally throughout the year.

[owbc]

I would expect that Miller Park will get LED lights at some point as well. Not a "major" upgrade but something to expect in the next few years.

[MrTPlush]

I would expect that Miller Park will get LED lights at some point as well. Not a "major" upgrade but something to expect in the next few years.

 

Yah LEDs are a huge money saver. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a lot of smaller improvements all over the park. Though when it was mentioned it sounded like one big project.

[Point Beer Is Best]

Although the previous $11M spent on the scoreboard isn't something that has much return on investment, I keep thinking that if you're going to shell out significantly more money than that it will be for a project designed to generate revenues.

 

- I like the idea of a hotel & water park (is there a Dells-style water park in Milwaukee?), as it will still be a year-round destination.

- Is there currently a "Milwaukee baseball Hall of Fame?" I know they have the Walk of Fame or whatever they call it, but borrowing some ideas from the Packers in what they did with their HOF & Atrium (restaurants, Pro Shop expansion, etc) may work in terms of creating a year-round source of revenue. I just wouldn't expect the same level of results because the two stadiums are vastly different in their broad appeal. Lambeau is up there with Fenway in terms of reverence and drawing people from around the world, so going as big as Lambeau's expansion wouldn't work.

[MrTPlush]

Although the previous $11M spent on the scoreboard isn't something that has much return on investment, I keep thinking that if you're going to shell out significantly more money than that it will be for a project designed to generate revenues.

 

Well to be fair the Brewers only paid like $5mil of that. The rest came from the stadium fund or whatever they call it.

 

And I think it has had quite the return on investment. You are forgetting the advertisement opportunities and other uses for it that we couldn't do before. Now the next scoreboard(2020) is a little less clear. That one all you are gaining is fan experience and keeping up with technology.

[nate82]

A $20 million dollar bowling lane is my guess.

[MrTPlush]

A $20 million dollar bowling lane is my guess.

 

So Garza can host the Bowl-a-Thon forever.

[Bombers]

Announcement is at 10:00 am today

http://fox6now.com/2016/10/05/brewers-to-announce-comprehensive-project-and-upgrade-to-miller-park-fan-experience/

[JDBrewCrew]

Tom ‏@Haudricourt 1h1 hour ago Bayside, WI

Tom Retweeted Jeremy Nelson

I was just told it's a major improvement for fans attending games.

 

Milwaukee Business Journal said it will be an upgrade for food offerings and concessions stands.

[homer]

Tom ‏@Haudricourt 1h1 hour ago Bayside, WI

Tom Retweeted Jeremy Nelson

I was just told it's a major improvement for fans attending games.

 

Milwaukee Business Journal said it will be an upgrade for food offerings and concessions stands.

 

That would be incredibly underwhelming if true.