MILWAUKEE – There’s only 43 days remaining until pitchers and catchers report for spring training, and the Milwaukee Brewers are working hard to make sure American Family Field will be ready when the Crew plays their first game in Wisconsin in 2024.
Brewers President of Business Operations Rick Schlesinger joined Wisconsin’s Afternoon News for the first time in the new year on Tuesday, January 2. He said the new scoreboard is on track to be fully operational by Opening Day.
“It’s all on schedule and I’m looking at the scoreboard right now – or what it used to be – and it’s just a lot of steel,” Schlesinger said. “All the LED boards that will be ready to go are already inside the ballpark so no worries about supply chains with that.”
The upgraded boards will include the main center field scoreboard, which will be expanded to 12,000 square feet as well as another new board in right field, clocking in at an additional 2,500 square feet.
“It will be a dramatic change for fans who are used to what used to be a large scoreboard at 5,900 square feet,” Schlesinger said. “So double it and then add some.”
And even though we’re in the middle of football season right now amid a Packers postseason push, the Brewers are putting on a preseason event to get fans excited about the 2024 season. The Brewers Winter Warm-Up is scheduled to take place at the Miller High Life Theatre on Saturday, Jan. 13 and Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024.
“It’s a little bit more of a smaller presentation,” Schlesinger said. “We’ve got autograph sessions with current players, alums, future stars. We’ve got a show that we’re going to have at the main stage theater there; it’s a great opportunity to get excited about the 2024 season.”
Schlesinger said that the smaller venue restricted some of their options for programming this year, but the team is hoping that winterizing the ballpark will widen their options – including reviving the Brewers On Deck format.
“Winterization could be done after the ’24 season which means, after the ’25 season we could bring Brewers On Deck to the ballpark here,” he said.
WTMJ will be broadcasting live from the Winter Warm-Up on the first day of the event from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, January 13, with a live show hosted by Dominic Cotroneo at the Miller High Life Theatre.
You can also tune into Wisconsin’s Afternoon News this week to win free tickets to the event. Listen live here or watch on our livestream here.
