The public owner of the Milwaukee Brewers' American Family Field will spend $500,000 on flood prevention measures in an effort to forestall forthcoming insurance premium increases attributed to climate change.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Wisconsin Baseball Park District will install flood gates at the stadium's north load dock and reinforce the dock's wall during the 2024-'25 offseason.
The measures were requested by the FM Global which insured all MLB stadiums.
The flood risk is related to the Menomonee River, which runs just blocks from two of the stadium's parking lots.
Don Griffin, vice president, policy, research and international, at the American Property Casualty Insurers Association, told the Sentinel that flooding risk have increased across the country.
"What we're seeing is a large increase in the severity of these events," Griffin told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2023.
The reinforced infrastructure is expected to save the owners about $125,000 in additional insurance expenditures.
The Sentinel broke the math down as follows:
The 2024 insurance expense was $790,000 − around a 55% increase from $511,169 in 2023. That expense was $377,581 in 2022.Those figures reflect just the stadium district's share of the premium − accounting for its roughly 64% ownership of American Family Field. The Brewers pay a portion of the premium to reflect the ball club's roughly 36% ownership stake in the stadium.
Officials said the $500,000 cost of the project is worthwhile but admitted that it's hard to estimate the return on investment in 2025 and beyond.
American Family Field flooded in 2009 after an intense downpour on the Stadium Freeway south of the ballpark exit overpass led to water washing through an embankment on the highway's west side. The water went through the stadium's south loading dock, damaging indoor batting cages, clubhouses and storage areas.
