Major League Baseball seems poised to take a Milwaukee franchise hostage for a second time if they don't get their way.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke to Milwaukee media members over the holiday weekend, telling them that the state will need to assist the team with over $400 million in renovations across 20 years to American Family Field. Otherwise, the league will look into potentially relocating the franchise. The upgrades would primarily improve the stadium's seats and concourses.
The discussions come before the Brewers' lease is up at American Family Field in 2030 and after Governor Tony Evers' plan to put $290 million in funding was nixed by the state legislature. In 1995, then-Gov. Tommy Thompson approved a plan to fund the $300 million construction of then-Miller Park with a 0.1 percent sale tax in five counties including and near Milwaukee. The state pushed Lambeau Field's construction costs solely on Brown County taxpayers a few years later but gladly signed a public financing deal for Fiserv Forum where the Milwaukee Bucks play.
This would not be the first time a Milwaukee baseball franchise has threatened to leave either. The Braves would make good on the threat in 1966 when their Chicago-based owners moved the franchise to Atlanta where they felt they could make more money from ticket sales and broadcast revenues. In both cases, the Brewers and the Braves have been able to draw high attendance figures despite being located between two bigger markets (Chicago and Minneapolis) and three other MLB franchises.
