Miller Park Hotel

[MrTPlush]

We pretty much killed any chance of a cool atmosphere around the park when we put it where we did. It’s a weird spot when there isn’t baseball being played. It is dead come the offseason. I wish there were nice bars around it and a hotel etc...but there isn’t and I really doubt there will ever be.

 

What is in it for the Brewers here? They aren’t going to make much money and does it really add anything the the experience? I mean...no, not really. It isn’t a game changer. You know what would be better? Food that doesn’t taste like dog poop. Adding to the tailgate experience would also be way more effective.

 

A hotel right next to the stadium would add to the experience for many.

 

I think you are missing the point of it not being a HUGE experience booster. Not to mention said hotel would not be close to Miller Park in all reality. I calculated it out figuring the only logical place is the lot north of the stadium and it would be a 15 minute walk there. The BestWestern is a 23 minute walk. If you are drunk 15 minutes vs. 23 minutes? Is that even a difference at that point? No, not really.

[wallus]

The hotel would be sold out 81 times a year without much of a doubt. When you average what the Brewers do for attendance, you really think they couldn't sell out a couple hundred rooms for a game? I think this would be a good idea and could have been done when the payroll was low by Mark.

[rickh150]

I'd like to see the hotel attached to Milller Park. Perhaps a skywalk to the Club level and access to the Field Level on the first base side of Miller Park could work, with the hotel itself rubbing up against the northwest side of Miller Park. How this could be twisted into a bad idea is beyond me. Put 30,000 people in a building for any event 8o times a year and you'd expect to have a hotel within walking distance of the venue.

[rickh150]

While we're at it, put a pool on the roof (8 floors) with a retractable roof, if that makes sense.

[trwi7]

I'd like to see the hotel attached to Milller Park. Perhaps a skywalk to the Club level and access to the Field Level on the first base side of Miller Park could work, with the hotel itself rubbing up against the northwest side of Miller Park. How this could be twisted into a bad idea is beyond me. Put 30,000 people in a building for any event 8o times a year and you'd expect to have a hotel within walking distance of the venue.

 

They would never have a skywalk with access to the club level. You need to show your ticket before they let you into the club level. And I certainly wouldn't want to build a hotel in that location if I was a developer. You might get it filled for 80 dates but there's not going to be much of any occupancy from October-March.

[nate82]

You wouldn't even fill it for 80 dates. I doubt it would even be half full for all of the home games. You might be able to sell out on the weekend games but I don't see the weekdays selling out.

 

The demand is also being overstated due to the personal bias being discussed here. At best you are looking at about 40% of the days for the games filling up the hotel. You have another 200+ days to fill the hotel. Unless you are willing to pay a premium to stay at the hotel $200+ per night I don't see how this is a viable option.

[MrTPlush]

I'd like to see the hotel attached to Milller Park. Perhaps a skywalk to the Club level and access to the Field Level on the first base side of Miller Park could work, with the hotel itself rubbing up against the northwest side of Miller Park. How this could be twisted into a bad idea is beyond me. Put 30,000 people in a building for any event 8o times a year and you'd expect to have a hotel within walking distance of the venue.[/quote]

 

There is.

 

I don't think they would build anything onto Miller Park. It would ruin the symmetrical architecture it has. I think that was a big part of the design and goes well with the roof. They aren't going to blow up preferred parking for a hotel and the needed parking lot it would require. It just isn't a very realistic plan. Not to mention it would be the worst located hotel in the Milwaukee area. It is close to nothing. The biggest guest when the Brewers aren't there would probably be companionship workers servicing the local area around the stadium...only half kidding.

[homer]

I don't think the hotel has to be open year round. I also don't think it have to be very big - less than 100 rooms. It also doesn't have to be connected to Miller Park. It could be on the river next to the Henry Aaron Trail. This isn't like plopping a Hampton Inn in a parking lot. It would have to be baseball themed obviously with memorabilia in the rooms/lobby etc. There are plenty of baseball nuts from out of town teams that would rather stay there than a downtown hotel or the Best Western which is a 20 minute walk.

 

I also don't think it will ever happen.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

You wouldn't even fill it for 80 dates. I doubt it would even be half full for all of the home games. You might be able to sell out on the weekend games but I don't see the weekdays selling out.

 

The demand is also being overstated due to the personal bias being discussed here. At best you are looking at about 40% of the days for the games filling up the hotel. You have another 200+ days to fill the hotel. Unless you are willing to pay a premium to stay at the hotel $200+ per night I don't see how this is a viable option.

 

Nailed it.

 

Believe me that there were countless analysts who worked on this idea and concluded it not make sense. You are a stone's throw from the city. That hotel would be deserted any time there isn't a game, and the dining areas would get zero foot traffic during those times as well. Even game days are not a huge draw a lot of nights. I'm guessing the Brewers would also not be fans of losing precious dining dollars they get with the current captive audience situation they have going on.

 

Closing it for part of the year doesn't bring expenses down to 0 either. If this were profitable, it would have been a long, long time ago.

[FVBrewerFan]

This is why the valley would have been the perfect site for Miller Park. But it was hard enough getting it approved, so I understand why they needed to make the proposal as easy as possible.

[homer]

You wouldn't even fill it for 80 dates. I doubt it would even be half full for all of the home games. You might be able to sell out on the weekend games but I don't see the weekdays selling out.

 

The demand is also being overstated due to the personal bias being discussed here. At best you are looking at about 40% of the days for the games filling up the hotel. You have another 200+ days to fill the hotel. Unless you are willing to pay a premium to stay at the hotel $200+ per night I don't see how this is a viable option.

 

Nailed it.

 

Believe me that there were countless analysts who worked on this idea and concluded it not make sense. You are a stone's throw from the city. That hotel would be deserted any time there isn't a game, and the dining areas would get zero foot traffic during those times as well. Even game days are not a huge draw a lot of nights. I'm guessing the Brewers would also not be fans of losing precious dining dollars they get with the current captive audience situation they have going on.

 

Closing it for part of the year doesn't bring expenses down to 0 either. If this were profitable, it would have been a long, long time ago.

 

What analysts are you referring to? I don't recall this ever coming up before. TGI Fridays seems to make things work in the off season...or at least they make enough money during the season to stay open during the winter.

[rickh150]

It's within driving distance to everything in Milwaukee; it has easy access. Conventions, meetings, wedding parties, Etc. would use it. I think of all those out of state fans of the opposition that we see in the stands..... it would be super easy to see two games and stay for a night next to the stadium rather than heading downtown.

 

If you are against this one, you probably are against the operation of 90% of the hotels out there already. Weekday traffic? Events going on in Milwaukee?

 

How do they manage?

[True Blue Brew Crew]

I had no idea we has so many hotel development experts on this site. What a neat thing.

[rickh150]

I had no idea we has so many hotel development experts on this site. What a neat thing.

 

Loaded jerky words for a fan site based on one's honest opinion, be it right or wrong.

Please clarify....

It hasn't happened yet = bad idea?

Only hotel developers have the wisdom to know where to build?

So you yourself have no opinion or do you think it's a bad idea?

And if you are against the idea itself, with which developer do you work?

[True Blue Brew Crew]

I had no idea we has so many hotel development experts on this site. What a neat thing.

 

Loaded jerky words for a fan site based on one's honest opinion, be it right or wrong.

Please clarify....

It hasn't happened yet = bad idea?

Only hotel developers have the wisdom to know where to build?

So you yourself have no opinion or do you think it's a bad idea?

And if you are against the idea itself, with which developer do you work?

 

I was actually on your side. As a non-hotel development expert myself, I think you made some great points as to why it could work. It's those completely ruling it out that I was scratching my head at.

[wallus]

I have a friend in the hotel industry. You would be shocked at how low occupancy rates would have to be for a hotel to not make money.

[nate82]

It's within driving distance to everything in Milwaukee; it has easy access. Conventions, meetings, wedding parties, Etc. would use it. I think of all those out of state fans of the opposition that we see in the stands..... it would be super easy to see two games and stay for a night next to the stadium rather than heading downtown.

 

If you are against this one, you probably are against the operation of 90% of the hotels out there already. Weekday traffic? Events going on in Milwaukee?

 

How do they manage?

 

Nice straw man.

[MrTPlush]

I had no idea we has so many hotel development experts on this site. What a neat thing.

 

So it is okay to be a non-expert as long as you are for the idea and not against it? It was nice of you to have your non-expert opinion on who you thought was right though. Sorry, but that makes no sense.

 

 

On another note I don' think the question is if it is profitable or not...the Brewers can make anything profitable if they want it to be. I think the problem lies in the fact it wouldn't be a huge money maker. They would have to pour millions into a project that isn't really moving the bottom line. Would it add to the experience? No, I don't think it really would that much. We are known for tailgating and most out of states fans enjoy taking part in such activity too.

 

I don't buy into it being useful outside of the baseball season. Where is the next closest hotel outside of the Best Western? No where near Miller Park and for good reason...it is a terrible location. I bet the Best Western is only near Miller Park because of the hospital, likely it's main source of guests.

 

The only bright side is the fact it would be stupidly cheap when the Brewers aren't there and it would end up really close to the highway. Very well could pull off travelers just wanting to stop for the night. Which is about the only people you will get because once again...it is by nothing. No food, no shopping, and no gas station. Not even basic amenities.

 

I just think there are better ways to spend money and add to the experience more. I am glad to discover the Best Western from this thread though. I always assumed there wasn't a hotel within waking distance because that is what everyone says. The Best Western is only about .5 mile farther than walking to your car in the general parking lots.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I have a friend in the hotel industry. You would be shocked at how low occupancy rates would have to be for a hotel to not make money.

 

The peak profit occupancy rate for a hotel is between 75 and 85%. The rate at which they turn any profit period, varies greatly from place to place. But this hotel would not be anywhere near 85% about 90% of the year.

 

The main draw of the location would be the proximity to the stadium, which frankly isn't a really great draw as the rest of the things hotel clientele would want to do are located in the city. There are a thousand hotel and bar shuttles that take you right to the entrance. This idea simply is not addressing a big need for any significant number of people, and there is a major bias toward its actual need on a website like this.

 

It would have to be drawing people during the offseason, like the thing Packers have going on, and it's just not going to do that.

 

As far as my general analysts comment, I'm just telling you that I can promise you real estate analysts and developers have explored this idea, likely two decades ago, and came back with the conclusion that it didn't make sense.

 

Now, if that area of West Milwaukee "gentrified" and became full of young people and trendy restaurants, you might have a different situation.

[FVBrewerFan]

I think it could work, but no idea if it actually WOULD. It would be in an area with no other hotels, and could attract a fair amount of business travelers. MP does have quite a bit of industry nearby. It could even take spill-over from the Medical Center, office park area around the zoo interchange. There's a couple hotels over there, but if the MP hotel would be a Marriott brand for example, it may pull from that area.

[tmwiese55]

Yea it's not like it's 15 miles from the main downtown, it would be just like any other hotel in the offseason. Poto is the most obvious example and as I said they charge 300-400/night on weekends when the Brewers are home and they're sold out. Granted, they have the casino there but it's basically in the same area. If they've deemed MKE is oversaturated on hotels that is logical and they're the experts. But if you could just take that Best Western or some other hotel within 3-5 miles of MP and transplant into the MP parking lot I'm sure it would do better than it's current spot. As noted though, is it worth hundreds of millions in investment 20 years after MP was already built. Probably not.

[MrTPlush]

Haven't the Brewers already done a analysis/research of a ballpark village or some other type of building up some stuff around Miller Park? Wasn't that deemed, "not worthy"? I recall someone mentioning it in a thread long ago.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Regardless of that analysis being public or not, yes, it's been done, with 100% certainty. That is the kind of thing they are likely investigating every decade or so.

[MrTPlush]

Regardless of that analysis being public or not, yes, it's been done, with 100% certainty. That is the kind of thing they are likely investigating every decade or so.

 

Right, I thought it came up again not too terribly long ago semi-public. I think the Brewers would love to build up around Miller Park...but it just isn't worth the massive upfront investment with little potential to grow past their investment. There really isn't room to expand and it isn't like anything is ready to be bought and bulldozed. A lot of it is residential.

 

We built in an area that doesn't have big economic growth potential.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Something I haven't seen brought up is the issue of entertainment spend having very set caps. This has been studied in academia for a while every time some team promises "economic growth" with a stadium and it's been pretty much proven to be nonsense. All the developments do are reallocate dollars, they don't "grow" anything. If you put Fiserv Forum in, it's great for the Bucks, but usually at the expense of something else. People will see fewer movies, but go to an extra game, etc. Those types of projects do very little or nothing to "develop" the economy; they just slice the pie differently.

 

Which ties in to what you just said, the economic growth isn't there. If the neighborhood became Tosa 2.0 or something, that's different story. These types of projects do best in areas where the income is outpacing the options for things to do. Areas in SE WI where that is most true right now would be the Washington County area which has seen a housing boom the last 5 years but is still lacking some upscale leisure. I'm not saying build Brewers Village in Washington County, just saying that's the type of imbalance developers want when they do something like this.