(The Center Square) – Nearly $55 million in spending was reportedly approved to winterize American Family Field in Milwaukee, with claims the taxpayer district funds will allow for winter events and concerts at the stadium.
The spending includes $25 million to winterize the stadium, meaning the improvements would allow for the seating bowl temperature to be 68 degrees even when the temperature outside is 10 below zero, according to WISN.
The Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District Board also approved $10 million for social gathering spaces, $500,000 for roof repairs, $661,000 to build a sensory room and $500,000 to upgrade the umpire locker room for women umpires, WISN reported.
The issue with the spending and winterization is that stadium concert tours do not occur in the winter because artists do not put together tours during a time of year when only some stadiums and cities can be visited.
“The difference between an outdoor stadium and an indoor stadium is essentially zero in terms of events,” economist Victor Matheson told The Center Square while discussing similar claims involving a roofed NFL stadium in Nashville. “The reason for that is that all the big tours all go out in the summer specifically so they can use all the outdoor stadiums in the country rather than the limited number of domed stadiums.”
American Family Field has a capacity of nearly 42,000, which is larger than most concert venues that artists perform at to begin with.
Visit Milwaukee told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel late last year that winterizing the stadium could lead to the stadium hosting The NHL Winter Classic and the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball Final Four.