Basketball court installed at Milwaukee Brewers' American Family Field with Badgers hoops coming Friday
Milwaukee Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger characterized the experience "like a chess board," getting all the moving pieces in place to offer a first-of-its-kind basketball game at American Family Field. Which might be the perfect metaphor with the 200-plus squares of basketball court literally getting hammered into place behind him on the stadium's infield.
On Friday, the University of Wisconsin men's and women's basketball teams will face Stanford and Kansas State, respectively, in the "Brew City Battle" inside the baseball venue. On Monday, the court went into place, stretching diagonally between dugouts, with seating and other components to follow.
"(Wisconsin men's basketball) coach (Greg) Gard has been interested in bringing basketball to American Family Field for a long time," Schlesinger said Monday. "We've had lots of conversations with the University of Wisconsin. It took the convergence of a very eager coach and scheduling to work out, and a lot of logistics. Credit to the University of Wisconsin, they were the driving force behind this.
"There's always opportunities to host other events, whether it's concerts, bowling, weddings, different trade shows, but obviously something like this is a major operation and it (gives us) that national stamp that we can do other things here. We want to showcase this fabulous venue for more than just baseball."
The women's game begins at 3:30 p.m., with the men's game to follow at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available and affordable; Schlesinger said he expects 15,000 to 17,000 fans on hand.
"We didn't know (about demand), candidly," Schlesinger said. "It's early in the basketball season, people are still focused on football, and the Badgers (football) are playing well lately, so people are focused on that. ... It'll replicate the Kohl Center atmosphere, and if people have a great experience, we'll build on it."
Here's what to know about the event and the court installation:
Will the roof be open?
Both the roof and panels will be closed, and while Schlesinger advised fans to bring a jacket, the stadium will turn on its heating Thursday and should generate temperatures in the 60s.
Schlesinger said the temperate fall, including temperatures approaching 70 degrees on Thursday, will help keep the ballpark from getting too cold.
Where is the seating?
The court will be equipped on all sides with courtside seating, including a bleacher apparatus that should handle about 400 seats. Otherwise, the lower two decks of the bowl (field and loge levels) will be open. Schlesinger said they were capable of opening the other decks if demand warranted.
How difficult is it to build a court on the infield?
Mark Starsiak, vice president of sports properties at Intersport (the coordinating force behind the overall event) said his company organizes non-traditional events roughly once a year, often for events around the Final Four. The first step was leveling the field and removing the mound, which the Brewers did in advance of Monday's installation.
"Honestly, with the leveling of the field here, it was probably one of the easier ones outside of an arena that we've done," Starsiak said. "The grass is certainly important; we wanted to minimize (damage to) that. We want to impact that as little as possible and use the natural sight lines of the facility."
Intersport handles the entire operation, including video presentations.
Does this mean the stadium would be in line to host bigger events, like the NCAA Tournament Final Four?
The timing is tricky there, with baseball season beginning at roughly the same time as a Final Four or even the regional round of the NCAA Tournament.
"There's challenges for us with the grass," Schlesinger said. "Right now it's not a problem, but in March (to have the grass repaired in time for games) ... I'd have to ask the grounds crew what they think, and I think I know the answer. But there are always opportunities. That would be great for the city, great for the community and great for the facility. We just have to see if it would work for the grass situation."
What time is the Brew City Battle?
Wisconsin women vs. Kansas State, 3:30 p.m.
Wisconsin men vs. Stanford, 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are available through the Brewers starting at $19. Tickets start at $50 on StubHub and $60 on Vivid Seats.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Basketball court installed at American Family Field for Badgers games
