Fan with 'Timeless Ticket' says Brewers attempt to make good doesn't go far enough
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- On the field, the Milwaukee Brewers are preparing to open the World Series at home Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays. In the stands, some of fans at American Family Field will be frustrated over a decade-old offer they looked to cash in.
In 2015, the Brewers offered 1,000 'Timeless Tickets,' which served as a voucher for a ticket to any future game in a future season, including the World Series. It also included nine vouchers for future regular season tickets.
Danny Fochesato said he bought one of the Timeless Tickets as a treat for his 27th birthday. He first tried to redeem the ticket in 2018, when the Brewers played the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series (NLCS).
Fochesato showed a receipt from tickets he was able to buy in section 119, at field level behind home plate. Those games never happened as the Dodgers won that series.
Timeless Ticket holders were able to buy seats in prime locations for the 2018 World Series
Still, Fochesato said his expectation was the Timeless Ticket also served as a form of early access to buy prime seats. He claimed a ticket representative even said as much during a conversation before he bought the thousand-dollar ticket in 2015.
Last fall, the Brewers returned to the NLCS. This time, the Timeless Ticket redemption form no longer included infield box seats, according to one provided by Fochesato. Still, fans could mark their preference for field level seats in the outfield or in the 200-level loge sections.
"I right away was like, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa,'" Fochesato said. "What happened to best available?"
A 2025 World Series order form for Timeless Ticket holders
Then, this month, the Timeless Ticket order form contained even fewer options. Those seeking to redeem their ticket would be placed in either the 400-level terrace sections, the highest part of the park, or given standing room tickets.
On Tuesday, the Brewers apologized amid frustration from Timeless Ticket holders. The team announced those who redeemed World Series tickets this year would keep those seats, and they could still hold onto their Timeless Ticket for a future season.
"Clearly, even with extraordinary limitations on available seats, we did not live up to the spirit of the program," Rick Schlesinger, the team's president of business operations, said. "And we have been working through a resolution."
Fochesato said he remained unsatisfied with the team's attempt to make things right. Ultimately, the team offered him a single seat at field level in the outfield for Game 1 Friday, while the three seats he bought will be together in the terrace level for Game 2.
If someone invested $1,000 in the S&P 500 in early 2015, that would've yielded $4,618. On StubHub Wednesday afternoon, the cheapest seat for Game 1 was listed for $2,786.
"There's no real advantage that we have gotten this year with it, and that's the whole problem," Fochesato said. "That's the whole issue."
The story has stirred lots of conflicting opinions online.
A San Francisco Giants fan posted, "This is going to curse the Brewers. Rays in 6."
Meanwhile, lots of Brewers fans have slammed the complaining Timeless Ticket holders as being greedy.
"They cried about getting a WS ticket for cheaper than if they bought one now and now they get that ticket to the WS for FREE???" one incredulous Brewers fan, posting as "Angry Brewers Fan" posted to X.
Fochesato maintained truly honoring the offer would've meant giving fans access to the full seating chart before World Series tickets were on sale for the general public.
He's aware of the mounting criticism from Brewers fans who believe he's being greedy at a time when he should be grateful for the team's success.
"Have you given somebody $1,000 over a decade ago," he said. "And you're gonna be OK with them not living up to what you gave them that money for?"