A new era: American Family Field sign raised

MILWAUKEE -- The first sign of spring came early to Wisconsin.

A crew from the Green Bay-based Jones Sign Company raised an “American Family Field” sign outside the home of the Brewers on Wednesday morning, the first tangible evidence of the end of the Miller Park era and the beginning of the new 15-year naming rights agreement with Madison-based American Family Insurance.

The first sign -- with more than 2,000 internal LED lights and better energy efficiency than the one it replaced -- went up at the entrance to the stadium grounds along Interstate 94. Crews planned to immediately start working on the other side of the same sign and will then move to other large installations atop the scoreboard inside the stadium as well as the clock tower and the roof pivot outside. Those projects will take place over the coming weeks depending on weather, but the entire rebranding is on schedule to be completed by Opening Day.

“It is a milestone day, there’s no question,” president of business operations Rick Schlesinger said. “You don’t change the name of the ballpark lightly or frequently.”

Addressing fans who are having a difficult time accepting the new name, Schlesinger said, “I understand that. The sentiment people have for the ballpark is why we took such great care in working with American Family to come up with a name and come up with the whole partnership. We understand ballpark names mean something.

“I think over time, people will get very comfortable with the name, but my philosophy is, I want people to come to the ballpark and be fans of the Brewers. Some people still call it County Stadium. As long as people are coming to the ballpark, I respect that.”

Will people come to the ballpark in 2021? Schlesinger is optimistic. As of Wednesday morning, the Brewers were preparing for an on-time start to Spring Training (pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report on Feb. 18) and an on-time Opening Day on Thursday, April 1, against the Twins at home.

Of course, everything is subject to change based on the trajectory of the coronavirus pandemic, the pace of vaccinations, approvals from the City of Milwaukee and local health authorities, and negotiations between MLB and the MLB Players Association, Schlesinger said. The Brewers say that the pace of season-ticket renewals is strong despite the uncertainty, but for now they have held off the start of group ticket sales. They are remaining “flexible” for now about the annual Arctic Tailgate, which typically takes place during the third week of February and usually marks the start of individual game sales. The club likely will wait until it gets more guidance from the city and MLB before selling those tickets.

For now, Schlesinger has not ruled out hosting some fans on Opening Day. Looking beyond that, he said, “Our goal is in the summer to have full stands, but we’ll see. If they tell us we can have fans on Opening Day, tell us how many and we’ll figure it out. But whatever we do, we’re going to make sure we do it safely.”

Whenever fans do return to American Family Field, they will see changes beyond the large signage. Schlesinger said that the partnership with the insurer includes some additional projects, all part of a naming rights agreement that included the name of the stadium in Milwaukee as well as the Brewers’ training complex in Phoenix.

As for the “Miller Park” signage, some of which had graced the building since before its grand opening in 2001, Schlesinger said it is the property of Molson Coors, which is working out plans for what to do with it.

“We have been working with the Brewers on some exciting plans for the signage that celebrates our beers and our hometown team, and we’ll be able to share more in the near future,” said Molson Coors media relations manager Marty Maloney. “But we can say that some of the signs will be preserved on our Miller Valley campus forever. In the meantime, we look forward to continuing our longstanding partnership with the Brewers and cracking open an ice cold Miller Lite as we cheer them on in 2021.”

The Brewers are attempting to preserve as many small “Miller Park” markers as possible for potential auction or sale, but many of those elements could not be saved because of the way they were installed.

“Our hope is that this relationship continues to grow with the Brewers and the people of the city of Milwaukee,” American Family Insurance chairman and CEO Jack Salzwedel said. “This is the beginning for us of something very special.”