Could the Milwaukee Brewers end up relocating from their longtime home in Wisconsin at some point soon? It’s become at least somewhat of a possibility.
The MLB team announced recently that American Family Field needs roughly $440 million in renovations over the next two decades. Unfortunately, the mid-market team can’t afford to foot that bill alone.
While Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers (R) supports public funding, the Republican controlled Wisconsin Legislature is against it. This has led to a threat from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred that relocation could be in the future should the financing not take hold.
The Milwaukee Brewers’ current stadium is 22 years old. In comparison to other “modern” venues, it is showing its age.
With the Oakland Athletics nearing relocation to Las Vegas, it seems ridiculous that another team would up and move. But as we’ve seen around the Major League Baseball world in recent years, it’s all about the money. There are also a ton of cities that would love to host a Milwaukee Brewers team that has been a staple in Wisconsin since 1969. Here, we look at four options.
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Portland, Oregon
Despite never hosting a MLB team, this Pacific Northwest city has a rich history of baseball. It dates back to 1894 and includes several minor league clubs having a ton of success in the mid-market.
Portland had in the past been interested in taking on an expansion team. It would need public funding to build a state-of-the-art venue. But given the politics in Oregon, this likely wouldn’t be too much of an issue. Portland is currently the United States’ 26th most-populated city, ahead of Nashville and right behind Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Providence Park could potentially house the Milwaukee Brewers over the short term. It has a capacity of north of 26,000.
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Nashville, Tennessee
Speaking of Nashville, there has been a strong push from a minority controlled potential ownership group to bring an expansion team to the southern city. A group led by former MLB great Dave Stewart has been making a bid for some time now.
“We started this process four years ago. Nashville is a fast-growing city. It has a beautiful population of people,” Stewart said back in 2022. “There’s so much going on here. So, MLB put Nashville as one of its top places for expansion, and I think that triggered the idea to go down this path.”
While owner Mark Attanasio isn’t looking to sell the Milwaukee Brewers, there could be interest in moving the team to the growing southern city.
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio has served as a minor league affiliate for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres throughout the years. It has continually been bandied about as a potential location for an MLB team. San Antonio also wouldn’t be considered a mid-market as it boasts the seventh-largest population in the United States, behind Philadelphia.
What makes San Antonio a logical fit for the Milwaukee Brewers is the fact that the Alamodome could host the MLB for a few years before a new venue is erected. It holds 53,000 and can easily be transformed into a baseball stadium for the short term.
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Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver might not have an infrastructure in place like San Antonio, but local leaders have been outspoken in their willingness to erect a professional sports venue since losing the NBA’s Grizzlies years back.
The NHL’s Canucks have been a smashing success. Meanwhile, Minor League Baseball teams have been popular in the city dating back to the Vancouver Veterans some 120 years ago. As for the market, Vancouver’s population of 675,000 would rank ahead of Washington D.C., Las Vegas and Boston in the United States.