Did you know, Miller Park weighs 500,000 tons or 62,500,000 16-pound bowling balls? Did you know that it would take 4,655,926,995 Baseballs to fill Miller Park? Our participants learned about these amazing facts and more on their recent tour of Miller Park.
In April, the members of Community Opportunities Club North, Community Opportunities Club West, GSC Clubhouse and Legacy programs, and Waukesha Day Services had the opportunity to take a tour of Miller Park. Many of our participants are Milwaukee Brewers fans and jumped at the chance to go behind the scenes of their favorite ballpark. Though our participants could not see everything due to a concert setup, that did not stop them from having a great time. Many of them donned their favorite Brewers apparel and set out to learn more about Miller Park.
Before going into the stadium, the group took time outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. They had the chance to look at the Brewers’ Wall of Honor outside the park, which commemorates Milwaukee Brewers players, coaches and executives who gave outstanding service to the organization and earned many career accomplishments. Honorees are recognized with a bronze plaque along with their pictures and a brief synopsis of their careers with the Brewers. Participants enjoyed learning about the different people and even stopped to take a few pictures!
Usually not part of the tour, but added on for us, was a movie about the history of Miller Park starting with Milwaukee County Stadium. It highlighted the story of former Brewers owner Bud Selig and his role in keeping Major League Baseball (MLB) in Milwaukee. Participants saw black and white footage from past games, as well as baseball cards of every person who has ever played for the team. It was an amazing collection! By the end of the film, participants were cheering and hollering for their team as if they were watching a live game! The group also had the chance to look through a museum filled with authentic artifacts from Bud Selig’s time as the Brewers’ owner. There was a reproduction of his County Stadium office, equipped with a very realistic talking hologram of Bud, as well as various awards he had won, including seven Organization of the Year awards.
One unique experience the group had was seeing the field being transformed into a concert stage! Although the group couldn’t go out onto the field, they could see the production crew setting up for the Billie Joel concert that was happening the next day. We would go into a room for another part of the tour and come out and see more of the stage completed!
The next stop of the tour was the media room. Participants learned that Miller Park has one of the best media rooms in the MLB because many other parks do not have a designated area for media interviews. Participants got to sit at the media table in front of sponsor logos on the wall. Some staff and participants even asked each other questions like they would in a real news conference!
For the final stop, our group looked around the Brewers’ store to purchase some team merchandise. Some participants bought cups with the Brewers logo, shirts, stuffed animals and more. They all enjoyed looking around at the fun items with their favorite team’s logo.
Our participants had a wonderful time on the tour and asked to go on the tour again immediately after it ended! This highly anticipated outing was one for the books and one we will definitely repeat in the future. Despite the 70 minutes of walking (about a half mile) with minimal sitting time, our participants raved about the experience and learned so much about Miller Park and the Milwaukee Brewers. We cannot wait to visit again soon! Go Brewers! And thank you!
