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County Stadium
Milwaukee, WI
Home of two baseball teams during its
tenure, County Stadium was the first stadium built in the second
half of the 20th century. A new stadium for the Milwaukee
area was first discussed in 1909, but talks did not intensify until
40 years later. In 1949, several sites were proposed as possible
sites for a stadium. The site chosen was a garbage dump and construction of the
stadium began October 19, 1950. The ballpark
was built of steel and concrete, and would house baseball, football
and other events. It was constructed so if Milwaukee received a professional baseball team, the stadium
could be expanded. Construction on the stadium was slow because of
labor strikes and shortages of materials. Two MLB teams became
interested in moving to the new stadium, the St. Louis Browns and
the Boston Braves. The Boston Braves received permission and moved
to Milwaukee for the 1953 season.
Construction was finally completed
and the ballpark was named County Stadium. The Boston Braves were
renamed the Milwaukee Braves and opening day for the team at County
Stadium was on April 14, 1953. County Stadium had a capacity of
28,111 that consisted of a double decked grandstand down the first
and third base lines, a lower level of seating that extended to the
foul poles and bleachers were in various parts of the outfield. The
upper grandstand consisted of wooden bleachers. A state of the art
Miller High scoreboard was located in right field with a Longines
clock on top. The Green Bay Packers (NFL) began playing at County
Stadium on September 27, 1953. In order for the baseball diamond to
become a football gridiron, the bleachers behind the left field wall
were moved into the playing area in left field.
With soaring attendance at County
Stadium, the grandstands that were single decked down the foul lines
were double decked by the 1954 season, increasing the capacity to
43,340. Trees were planted in the batters backdrop in centerfield
and a picnic area known as the Braves Reservation was added between
the outfield bleachers in 1960. By 1959 attendance at County Stadium
began to drop. In 1964 the Braves began discussing moving to
Atlanta and succeeded. Their last game at County Stadium was on
September 12, 1965. Without baseball, the Packers were the only main
tenant and they only played half of their games at County Stadium.
A group including Bud Selig began trying to get MLB to expand to
Milwaukee. They were unsuccessful and after five years
without baseball, Bud Selig bought the Seattle Pilots and moved them
to Milwaukee for the 1970 season.
After the 1970 season, County Stadium
underwent few changes. County
Stadium became known for its mascot Bernie the Brewer, his beer
barrel, chalet and slide that was added in 1973 behind the
bleachers in centerfield. In 1974 the press box was remodeled and a
new scoreboard was installed. During the early 1990s the Brewers
began lobbying for a new ballpark. Construction for their new
ballpark,
Miller Park began in 1996. Fans visiting County Stadium in the
last years of its existence saw Miller Park rise beyond the bleachers in
the outfield. Other than being entertained by Bernie the Brewer, racing
sausage figures ran around the stadium during the game. The last
year for County Stadium was scheduled for 1999 but a crane accident
at Miller Park did not allow construction to be completed by the
2000 season. The final game at County Stadium was on September 28,
2000. County Stadium was demolished the following winter.
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