Drew Barth
Economics
Mr. Reuter
04/19/2016
Brewer’s Effect on the Economy
Baseball is back, and all baseball fans are excited for the upcoming season. The Brewers as of recent years haven’t been one of the top performing teams in the league, but Milwaukee and Wisconsin in general are baseball people. With close to 2 million people in attendance each year baseball is very popular in Milwaukee. The Brewers do great things for the community and the local economies around them due to their popularity. While baseball is just a game, the economic significance to the area and state are extraordinary!
In recent years the Brewers have grossed 356 million dollars. This roughly calculated to 1.5 percent of Wisconsin’s real GDP. As well, the Brewers bring in close to 4,400 jobs for people surrounding Milwaukee. This is a great employment booster for the local area. Within the 5 counties that pay taxes for Miller park Waukesha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, and Washington they pay a tax rate of .01% of every purchase made in these counties. The .01 that was added to the 5 counties taxes was well worth the economic booster that Miller park provides. Due to their need of staff they have great employment numbers, they are the thirteenth highest employer in Wisconsin. However, all of the jobs that the Brewers have are seasonal jobs ranging from April through September in most cases (Not including playoffs). There is 81 games in Milwaukee during a regular season, all 81 games help Milwaukee and confirm the wise decision it was to fund the construction of Miller park.
While the Brewers do help provide jobs and a big business in Milwaukee, they also support businesses in the community.They are not just some organization helping themselves out, they are an organization with the goal to better Milwaukee. In the chart below it shows the attendance demographics, and where these people that come to games are from and their impact on local businesses.
As can be seen above, 57% of the Brewers attendance are out of area visitors. Of that 57%, 30% stay overnight at local hotels. If these people just stay over for one night they will spend on average $127.33 not including hotel and tickets to the game. This all supporting local businesses and tourism in Milwaukee County. With daily visitors, overnight visitors, employees, and the Brewers spendings the Brewers have a $292,485,343.68 output impact on the direct economy of Milwaukee.
In conclusion, the Milwaukee Brewers might not be the most athletically gifted team in the MLB, but they sure do know how to draw a crowd. This crowd doesn’t just help the Brewers as a business, but it helps other businesses in the area. The Brewers generate tourism, hotel stays, and employment for the Milwaukee area. Milwaukee has gotten a return on their investment, they have a team that makes the city great! A city like Milwaukee wants a professional team to create opportunities for the rest of the city, and their is no doubt that the Milwaukee Brewers accomplish that.
Works Cited
"Economic Impact of Transgenic Crops." SpringerReference (n.d.): n. pag.The Economic Impact of the Milwaukee Brewers. UWM. Web.
"Miller Park's Economic Impact." Miller Park. Journal Sentinel, n.d. Web.
I knew the Brewers had an effect on the economy but I never knew it was that much. It is interesting to think about the fact that those numbers are so high with the Brewers preforming poorly. It would be interesting to see how much the revenue would go up if the Brewers were preforming at a playoff level.
ReplyDeleteThe Brewers also have a very great marketing program that helps out with bringing all those people to the games. But I do agree with the fact that Miller Park and the Brewers do great things for the state of Wisconsin, with all the jobs and the money that is made. Just think about what will happen when the bucks build their new arena and all the jobs and the money that is going to bring to the state. Other than that great job
ReplyDeleteGood choice for a topic, most people would never think about this. It really is quite astonishing how much of an impact the Brewers make year to year. I want to know how much the effect would change if we had a really good team, that would make things more interesting and probably better for everyone in Wisconsin as well.
ReplyDeleteThe economic impact the Brewers have on Milwaukee is shocking to me. I didn't know how much of Wisconsin's real GDP they generate, and it is kind of crazy to think about but it makes sense. Part of the reason the Brewers get so much money from their games is because ticket prices are relatively low. You can attend a game at Miller Park for less than $20, and that draws more people and families who inside will buy food and beverages. The only downfall of the Brewers is that they only play from April to September. Despite that, making up that much of Wisconsin's Real GDP in only 6 months is insane to think about. This piece gave me a better understanding of the economic impact the Brewers have.
ReplyDeleteThe Milwaukee Brewers are a big positive for the city of Milwaukee. The team employs a lot of people to do different tasks at the ball park and they let local businesses sell there products at the concession stands which could help them make a profit if people really liked there product. Secondly the ticket sales alone bring in lots of money. All things considered the Brewers are a big positive for Milwaukee.
ReplyDeleteIt is truly amazing that the amount of money that can be generated by professional sports teams. Likewise, having the surrounding communities invest in things such as Miller Park and the new Bucks arena put a little more pride in seeing the teams in action. With the similar conditions that MIller Park was created and the overall good outcome that it brought to the economy in Wisconsin, it is just another good example why the people should stop complaining about the additional 0.01% tax increase for the new Bucks arena seeing as the tax increase for Miller Park was such a success.
ReplyDeleteMost people wouldn't recognize how one big thing like the Brewers, can affect so many little things like businesses in the surrounding area. The team produces many job opportunities for individuals which helps continue to lower our unemployment rate. This is particularly beneficial because of the location. Milwaukee has a high population and of those people many are in poverty. Knowing this, the money flow creates opportunities for adults and family to rise up.
ReplyDeleteThe economic impact the Brewers have on Milwaukee is actually very interesting to me. I knew they helped with the economy but I didn't know that they did this much. They give out so many jobs for people and help them so that they can make money, also the brewers make so much money with the stadium and the advertisements and commercials so that they can help the economy out. Also I do know that they have a fantastic marketing program that helps with bringing in people to come and watch the games. When the Bucks get their new arena just think about how much money and jobs and even more stuff that they will bring in to help the economy when both stadiums are built
ReplyDeleteOne thing we can say in Wisconsin, we are great sports fans. Just think if the Brewers were as good at baseball as the Packers are at football what increase in revenue there would be. Unfortunately, on the downside, families with children cannot afford to take their kids to many Brewer games a season. A family of four spends about $200 to attend a game, pay for parking, and get something to eat. May not sound like much, but for 4 hours of entertainment it gets costly.
ReplyDeleteI remember going to one of the Brewers first games at Miller Park in 2001. Miller Park has in my experience always had pretty good attendance of fans. As you say in your article, over 50% of the fans aren't local, which means there tends to be a good amount of other fans visiting Miller Park. I find it surprising that they've made under 400 million dollars in sales. Keeping mind, some players are paid over $100 million dollars. Anyways, good job on this blog post.
ReplyDeleteI had assumed the Brewers had a positive aspect in the economy of Wisconsin, but I never knew how large of an impact they have. With the Brewers bringing in 356 million dollars to the community, it is a great booster which enables positive change within the community. These things include bringing job growth the the area, while improving the states GDP and the communities. Overall, the team of the Milwaukee Brewers, bring positive growth to the community through job growth and income.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct in stating Wisconsin is full of "baseball people; however, I would take this statement further and say Wisconsin is full of "sports people." Much of Wisconsin's culture is around sports and tailgating, thus explaining why the Brewers continue to contribute to 1.5% of Wisconsin's GDP. Additionally, most Wisconsinites enjoy beer and brats at these games also contributing to the gross profit. But I can only imagine how the demand for their games would increase if they were a better team.
ReplyDeleteI like this piece a lot, it’s very well done and goes in depth of what goes on in the Brewers organization. Most times when people write about a sports team they just write about the team, but this piece shows how important the brewers are to the city of Milwaukee and surrounding areas. They are such a huge part of the economy in these areas and help out even more in the communities. As said in the article, the brewers don’t just work to better themselves they work to make Milwaukee better. That can be seen through the 4,400 plus jobs they offer and all the money they put back into the community. Also a large part of supporters come from out of town making Milwaukee a better tourist spot and helps out the economy. With all these different things the Brewers provide for the fans and city of Milwaukee they truly have a large effect on the economy.
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