MILWAUKEE — There's no doubt that fans make a difference, and this Friday, Brewers' single-game tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m.
"Yeah, it's going to be 18 months since we've had fans watching Brewers games, so it's going to be great," Brewers President of Business Operations Rick Schlesinger says. "I mean we've missed the energy. We've missed the engagement. We miss everything about the fans. And for the fact that they can be here, even at reduced capacity, is the players are excited. We're excited."
TMJ4's Lance Allan: "I know when you and I have done interviews in the past, usually I'm kind of like 'OK it's noisy.' I actually like the fact that people are working and getting stuff ready, and you hear people and see people and things are happening."
"Yeah no, whether it's the sound of, you know, beer being transported into the ballpark, or cleaning or getting the signage up. Yeah, there are little things that we all appreciate about ramping up for opening day," Schlesinger says.
Very limited tickets are available for opening day. But Schlesinger says there are 1,500 to 2,000 tickets available for many other games, in April.
Experience for fans
When people call or email the Brewers, the top question: will single game tickets be available?
"We don't have very much for opening day, no surprise," Brewers President of Business Operations Rick Schlesinger says. "But for the Cubs series and the rest of the games in April, we're going to have between 1,500 and 2,000 tickets per game available. If we could sell tickets to opening day in full capacity, I could sell 100,000 tickets. The fact that we're you know, obviously between 11,000 and 12,000 for opening day is, means you know obviously we're very scarce with the tickets. But the reality is, again single-game buyers. They're our fans. They've been through, they've been with us through thick and thin. And it was great to be able to make sure that we did reserve tickets for them. And we're hoping that the county and the city health department let us, you know increase capacity. But since we're operating at 25 percent right now, we'll make as many tickets available as we can. We're basically close to 12,000 using all four levels of the ballpark."
Lance Allan: "I did notice the signs obviously, no tailgating as you come in. What are you advising fans to do for now and what is the hope for the future?"
"People I think understand the rules," Schlesinger says. "They know there's no tailgating so when they come in the park, we want them to come to the gates. They have times on their tickets when they do enter the ballpark. Again with reduced capacity, I'm not really expecting any lines or long delays to get in but follow the rules."
Lance Allan: "For the team, for the staff. What does it mean to see fans here when they come in?"
"Yeah, it's a huge uplift for all of us," Schlesinger says. "You know, we went through a whole season last year with no fans. And it was hard. It was a tough environment for all of us. It's been 18 months since they've been here. And it's been a long time since we've had guests in our house, and we're excited to welcome them back."
And the Brewers say there is no substitute for real fans. They're looking forward to 25 percent capacity, and possibly more down the road.
