Brewers officials had a strong interest in extending the naming-rights deal with MillerCoorsGETTY IMAGES
After American Family Insurance and the Brewers agreed to a 15-year ballpark naming-rights deal beginning in '21, Brewers COO Rick Schlesinger "made it clear that MillerCoors was given first dibs on keeping the name Miller Park but declined to do so," according to Tom Haudricourt of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL. Schlesinger: "We had a strong interest in extending our naming rights deal with MillerCoors and expressed that interest with them early last summer. There was not a reciprocity of interest by MillerCoors. ... They wanted to continue our relationship with other marketing assets." He added, "We told MillerCoors we were going to approach other companies and they understood. They didn't have an issue with that." Haudricourt notes the Brewers "quickly identified" AFI, a "long-standing Wisconsin company that had been a marketing sponsor with the team for many years." AFI "quickly showed reciprocal interest." Some of the confusion among fans who felt the Brewers treated MillerCoors poorly in negotiations "might have stemmed from an internal email that MillerCoors sent its employees." The wording was "interpreted by some as meaning MillerCoors was outbid." The Brewers "consider this a win-win situation," as they have a naming-rights deal and will also "continue to do business with MillerCoors" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 1/30).
JUST FEELS WRONG: In Milwaukee, Jim Stingl wrote the "early returns are in," and Brewers fans "strongly favor keeping" the Miller Park name. Tearing down the signage and "replacing it with an insurance company logo feels wrong." One reason is that Miller Park "never really seemed like a corporate name." Another is that AFI "already has its name all over" Milwaukee's annual Summerfest, "including the overall brand itself and the amphitheater" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 1/27).
