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Milwaukee Brewers: Training At Miller Park Begins July 1, No Fans For Games

Chuck Quirmbach
The Brewers will start training camp at Miller Park on July 1. But fans won't be allowed in, and may not be let in for the entire 60-game season slated to begin in mid-July.

Milwaukee Brewers officials say a three-week training period for the baseball team will begin July 1 at Miller Park.

The workouts will be in advance of a 60-game season Major League Baseball announced this week, after the start of baseball’s typical 162-game season was delayed three months due to COVID-19 concerns.

The 60-game season will begin July 23 or 24. But fans in Milwaukee, and in other cities, will not be at the ballparks, at least not now.

Brewers President of Business Operations Rick Schlesinger says the Brewers are under the health guidelines of the city of Milwaukee, which currently do not permit fans at the Brewers games.

"If there is an opening of the city and there's a way to accommodate some fans, we absolutely would love to do it. I don't anticipate we're going to have an opportunity to have the stadium full in 2020. But even if we have a limited number of fans, through appropriate social distancing, and other health and safety protocols, it would certainly be an aspirational goal of ours," Schlesinger said Friday during a webcast.

Schlesinger says the negative financial impact of the shortened season, with possibly no fans, is substantial. "So, 2020 is going to be an extremely difficult financial picture for our organization. I'm not worried about the long-term health or stability of the organization," he said.

The San Francisco Giants announced they've asked season ticket holders to send images of themselves. The images will be placed on cardboard cutouts in front of their usual seats in the Giants stadium.

Schlesinger calls the Giants' plan "intriguing." He says many Brewers fans haven't missed a game in years. "If they can't physically be here [Miller Park,] having their image here would be fun to do," he said. But Schlesinger did not commit to such an effort.

The Brewers games will be on cable television. Schlesinger says viewers will see more virtual signage, meaning advertising, during the broadcasts.

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