New study shows economic value of Miller Park

View the full study: homecrewadvantage.com                                                                     
 
MILWAUKEE -- An independent study released today by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) shows that the Milwaukee Brewers’ Miller Park has generated $2.5 billion in economic output over the last 20 years.

​With the five-county sales tax that supported Miller Park’s construction set to sunset shortly, MMAC President Tim Sheehy said the study’s findings are a welcome validation of a successful public-private partnership.
 
“Twenty years ago, MMAC made the case to our members and to state policymakers that keeping Milwaukee a major-league city was a wise investment,” Sheehy said. “This independent study shows that the actual return on that investment has exceeded our expectations.”

The study was conducted by Convention, Sports and Leisure International (CSL), a leading advisory firm specializing in sports and entertainment industries. It shows that the construction and operation of Miller Park has generated thousands of jobs, billions in direct spending and personal earnings and hundreds of millions in tax revenue from 1999 to 2019.
 
The $2.5 billion cited by the study represents the “cumulative net new impacts” – benefits to the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County and the State of Wisconsin that would not have been realized without the existence of the Brewers and Miller Park.
 
Other key findings in the study include:

• In the first year in the ballpark, Brewers attendance increased by nearly 80 percent from the team’s final year at Milwaukee County Stadium.

• Since opening in 2001, despite operating in the smallest market in Major League Baseball, the ballpark has provided the region with a modern sports and entertainment venue, drawing an average of 2.7 million paid attendees per year (3.1 million in the last two seasons, including 2.9 million Brewers game attendees, which ranked eighth-highest in MLB in 2019 and 10th in MLB in 2018.)
  

• Based on historical Brewers attendance data, approximately 22 percent of ballpark event attendees are estimated to live within the City of Milwaukee, 38 percent within Milwaukee County, and 86 percent within the State of Wisconsin. The remaining 14 percent of attendees live outside the State of Wisconsin.
  

 
The Brewers echoed the report’s finding on the value of Miller Park.
 
“We are proud to call Miller Park home every day and feel privileged to operate in one of the finest facilities in Major League Baseball,” said Rick Schlesinger, President of Business Operations for the Milwaukee Brewers. “The impact that Miller Park has on our local community and regional economy only adds to that pride, and the Brewers will do all we can to continue to provide a great fan experience and economic opportunity for Wisconsin families.”
 
Miller Park was made possible by a .1% sales tax levied in a five-county region including Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, Waukesha and Racine counties. That tax is scheduled to sunset shortly.
 
“With the stadium tax sunsetting, this was a good time for us at the MMAC to look back and see if the expectations we based our advocacy for the stadium on were realistic,” said Sheehy. “This report gives welcome validation that the public-private partnership with the Brewers that Southeast Wisconsin entered into two decades ago has been an economic success for the region and the entire state.”
 
The full study is available to the public at homecrewadvantage.com.

About the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce
Founded in 1861, the MMAC serves as the chamber of commerce for the Milwaukee Region, representing approximately 2,000 member businesses with 300,000 employees. Its mission is to improve Metro Milwaukee as a place to invest capital, grow business and create jobs.

It is also a founding partner of the Milwaukee 7 Economic Development Partnership, the regional economic development organization for Southeast Wisconsin.