AmFam Field's public owner will spend $500,000 on flood prevention linked to climate change
American Family Field's public owner will spend $500,000 on flood prevention measures in hopes of forestalling another big annual insurance premium increase that's tied to climate change.
The Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District will install flood gates at the stadium's north loading dock and reinforce the dock's walls during the 2024-'25 off-season.
That was among four off-season projects, totaling $3.6 million, the district's board approved at its Monday meeting. The district, which leases the ballpark to the Milwaukee Brewers, also will make improvements to broadcast infrastructure, walk-in coolers and a suite-level central kitchen and pantry.
The anti-flooding improvements were requested by FM Global, the Johnston, Rhode Island-based company which insures Major League Baseball stadiums
That flood risk comes from the Menomonee River, which flows just a couple blocks east of American Family Field past the Yount and Uecker parking lots.
Increased flood risks affecting properties throughout the United States are tied to climate change, said Don Griffin, vice president, policy, research and international, at the American Property Casualty Insurers Association, an industry trade group.
"What we're seeing is a large increase in the severity of these events," Griffin told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2023.
At Monday's meeting, board member Sen. Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) asked if district officials anticipated a specific payback from the $500,000 expense.
Kristi Kreklow, district associate director, said the payback from last year would have been around $125,000.
The 2024 insurance expense was $790,000 − around a 55% increase from $511,169 in 2023. That expense was $377,581 in 2022.
Those figures reflect just the stadium district's share of the premium − accounting for its roughly 64% ownership of American Family Field. The Brewers pay a portion of the premium to reflect the ball club's roughly 36% ownership stake in the stadium.
Officials from both the ballclub and the stadium district believe the $500,000 cost is worthwhile − even though it's difficult to estimate the payback in 2025 and subsequent years, said Kreklow and Pat Goss, district executive director.
"Dealing with these (insurance) companies isn't easy," Goss told board members.
One reoccurring issue for the district: FM Global doesn't acknowledge the presence of a four- to five-foot natural embankment on the Menomonee River's west bank, at the edge of a parking lot south of Selig Drive.
Even if the river overflowed above its steep bank, district officials say, it would likely continue its natural flow south and east through the Menomonee Valley − and not turn west towards the ballpark.
The ballpark flooded in 2009 after an intense downpour on the Stadium Freeway south of the ballpark exit overpass led to water washing through an embankment on the highway's west side. The water went through the stadium's south loading dock, damaging indoor batting cages, clubhouses and storage areas.
In fall of 2009, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation built a berm along the highway's west side. In 2010, another severe storm flooded the road but the berm prevented water from entering the ballpark.
Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, X and Facebook.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers ballpark public owner will spend $500,000 on flood prevention
