Monday night marked a milestone for the Milwaukee Milkmen (independent; American Association), as the team played its first game at the brand-new Routine Field.
Located in suburban Franklin, Routine Field is the anchor of the mixed-use development Ballpark Commons, a project led by Mike Zimmerman, CEO of ROC Ventures, developer of Routine Field and owner of the Milkmen. The ballpark was originally scheduled to host its first Milkmen contest in May, but it was announced in April that construction delays would push the team’s inaugural game at the ballpark back to June 24.
Ultimately, Routine Field was able to open on that time frame. Even with wet weather conditions, a reported crowd of 3,284 was on hand at the 4,000-seat ballpark for its debut. The first game at Routine Field went into extra innings, resulting in the Milkmen losing 3-2 in 11 frames against the visiting Gary SouthShore RailCats. More from BizTimes.
Via a tweet from the Milkmen, here is a good perspective on the design of Routine Field (the photo above is a rendering issued prior to its completion):
It’s clearing up!! ☀️ come stop by and be apart of history – game is on for its regular start time 7:05pm! 🥛⚾️🐮 pic.twitter.com/ai66kCgcRU
— Milwaukee Milkmen (@MKEMilkmen) June 24, 2019
Naming rights for Routine Field were purchased by Franklin-based apparel company Routine Baseball, part of an agreement announced last fall. In addition to hosting the Milkmen, Routine Field will also serve as the home of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s baseball program.
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