A new study found that Miller Park has generated $2.5B for the city of Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin, as the venue's original 20-year lease is "about to reach its sunset, long after originally expected," according to Tom Haudricourt of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL. The study, commissioned by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and conducted by Conventions, Sports & Leisure Int'l, comes as the "five-county sales tax that helped build and maintain" the ballpark is winding down. The study said that the construction and continued operation of Miller Park generated $1.6B in "direct spending, a total of 1,835 in annual jobs" and $1.2B in personal earnings. The $2.5B "overall impact represents 'cumulative net new impacts' that would not have been realized without the existence" of the Brewers and Miller Park. The ballpark has "averaged 2.7 million paid attendees per year, including 2.9 million in baseball attendance last year, eighth-highest in the sport." About 22% of ballpark event attendees "come from the city of Milwaukee, 38% within Milwaukee County and 86% within the state's boundaries." The ballpark in '21 will be renamed American Family Field (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL, 2/18).
