The Milwaukee Brewers reached a deal last week that will allow the operator of Milwaukee's Summerfest to book major concerts at the 41,900-seat Miller Park. The venue has hosted very few concerts since its opening in 2001. The George Strait Country Music Festival and the supposed "band" N'Sync played at Miller Park in its opening year. Since then, only Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and Bon Jovi have played the venue.
Summerfest is run by Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. and has an average of more than 75,000 people attend each of its 11 days of entertainment. Summerfest bills itself as "The World's Largest Music Festival."
President and CEO of Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. Don Smiley said in a statement, "This agreement provides an opportunity to leverage our proven resources and expertise in targeting and securing world-class entertainment, while working cohesively with Brewers Enterprises to help maximize Miller Park for our community."
This deal clearly benefits both the Milwaukee Brewers and Summerfest. In these trying economic times, in which sports teams across the spectrum are needing to find creative ways to sell tickets, the option of holding major concerts at Miller Park sounds like a homerun. All four major concerts held at Miller Park have each drew more than 34,000 people. The current "main stage" of Summerfest, the Marcus Ampitheater, only holds a capacity of 23,000. The option of holding major Summerfest concerts at Miller Park will greatly increase Milwaukee World Festival's revenue from Summerfest and revenue for the Milwaukee Brewers, since the Brewers do not have to share any revenue from concerts with other MLB teams.
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