Roll out the brats, buns and beer! Tailgating for Brewers' home games is back
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- It’s official! The Milwaukee Brewers are bringing back tailgating for fans at American Family Field.
The team made the announcement Wednesday, April 7, after sharing a video featuring the racing sausages and mascots hinting at the news.
Starting April 12, tailgating will be permitted at all home games at AmFam Field. Tailgating will be allowed at single vehicles for those sitting in the same seating pod. Fans will need to remain in the immediate vicinity of their vehicle. Parking gates will open three hours in advance of the game, except for 6:40 p.m. weekday games in which parking gates open two and a half hours in advance.
BREAKING NEWS: Tailgating is Back!
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 7, 2021
Starting this coming Monday, April 12, tailgating will be permitted at all home games at American Family Field.
Join us: https://t.co/Eg2coMpaHXpic.twitter.com/mya3ELWkXy
We've got some big news coming soon... pic.twitter.com/cMNN6tCi4A
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 7, 2021
“Our goal for the season is to get complete normalcy and return to full fans and full tailgating and the great Brewers experience, but this is a step in the right direction,” team President of Business Operations Rick Schlesinger told reporters in a video conference Wednesday.
Fans have not been allowed to tailgate due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Right now, AmFam Field is at 25-percent capacity to adhere to health guidelines set by the City of Milwaukee Health Department.
Schlesinger said the team is prepared to enforce its protocols, but does not believe it will be an issue.
“We have parking attendants, we have parking security for all home games,” Schlesinger said. “And I think our fans are all by and large very respectful of the rules and the protocols, I think their behavior in the first homestand was reflective that they want to do the right thing.”
The City of Milwaukee Health Department released the following statement on the announcement:
"The Brewers have been reliable partners in the efforts to prevent COVID spread. The Milwaukee Health Department had discussed the resumption of tailgating with the team. The plan for tailgating includes safety precautions that the Health Department feels are appropriate."
The announcement comes as Milwaukee has seen a 100-percent increase in COVID cases in the last three weeks, believed to be tied to the emergence of the B117 variant first identified in the U.K. The increase is of concern to city leaders.
“The numbers are going in the wrong direction right now rather than the right direction,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said Wednesday. “From November through December – which were our highest months – then they started coming down, that’s what allowed us to move to the new category, there’s some concern of whether we’ll be able to stay in this category if the numbers continue to rise.”
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