The Milwaukee Brewers have been in the city of Milwaukee since the 1970 season and hold a special place in the history of the city. However, they may not be in Milwaukee for long after some shocking reports emerged on Friday.
According to Molly Beck of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Brewers could start looking for a new home as soon as this fall if state and local officials fail to reach an agreement on a taxpayer-funded package to improve the conditions of American Family Field
This has been an issue that has been mounting in Milwaukee, which even prompted MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to issue a statement back in May, urging Wisconsin’s Legislature to come to an agreement.
Beck added that there are a number of possible destinations that the Brewers could be eyeing for a new team, including Charlotte, North Carolina or Nashville, Tennessee.
The Brewers may start looking this fall for a new home which could lead the team to a potential move to Charlotte or Nashville. 😯 pic.twitter.com/Y6pyqNZpYi
— theScore (@theScore) August 11, 2023
The MLB world took notice of this news. Some are intrigued by the possibility of the Brewers coming to either Charlotte or Nashville, while others are certainly sad that they could be leaving Milwaukee.
The Brewers need to start taking a serious look at crafting this funding proposal in a way that would benefit areas around the ballpark like the Bucks did with Fiserv Forum, the Deer District and further development in the Park East. https://t.co/ddlFCqcQvb
— Dan Shafer (@DanRShafer) August 11, 2023
Wouldn’t be the first time a Milwaukee MLB franchise left a city for supposedly greener pastures. Let them go.
Let the state of Tennessee give them $1B for a new stadium. https://t.co/B8wPy6OjUR— Jonathan A. Jensen (@JAJensenPhD) August 11, 2023
Billionaires stop holding cities hostage and use their own money instead of tax payer funds challenge (impossible) https://t.co/M4DfLaGUoZ
— SHACK (@WeAreAllShack) August 11, 2023
https://twitter.com/notcars8n/status/1690037884844224521
There was no talk of the #Brewers moving until they started sniffing around for public money for stadium upkeep and upgrades. A tactic likely dictated by the commissioner, who also thinks it would be great if the A's left Oakland after 55 years. https://t.co/SfMJ8taSRA
— Jeff Ash (@jeffash26) August 11, 2023
An agreement can certainly still be made to keep the Brewers in Milwaukee, which is reportedly still what the organization wants.
“The Brewers genuinely want to stay, it is only a question of whether they’ll be able to with the (stadium) district broke,” a source familiar with negotiations told the Journal Sentinel.
If the Brewers do ultimately seek other cities to play in, it would be the second MLB team to do so as of late, after the Oakland Athletics finalized their move to Las Vegas back in July.