Miller Park’s revamped food program named 2017’s Best New Concessions Experience

The Milwaukee Brewers narrowly missed out on this year’s MLB postseason action, but its home field, Miller Park, capped the 2017 season by earning an impressive honor from one of the sport’s most respected publications. Ballpark Digest this week recognized Miller Park with its 2017 honors for Best New Concessions Experience. The recognition comes after Delaware North Sportservice, which operates food, beverage and retail services for the ballpark, invested in a multimillion dollar overhaul of concessions offerings earlier this year.
 
“It’s quite an honor to share this award with the Milwaukee Brewers,” said Carlos Bernal, president of Delaware North Sportservice. “We are fortunate to be partners with a team that prioritizes their fan experience. Chef Seth VanderLaan, our general manager Ken Gaber and their crew collaborated with the Brewers to bring a progressive, culinary concession vision to life at Miller Park.”
 
Sportservice and the Brewers partnered to bring more than $20 million in enhancements to expand the food and beverage offerings and improve concessions and concourse layout in 2017. This meant adding more local offerings, redesigning club-level spaces and adding dedicated stands for well-known Wisconsin food items.
 
“We took a lot of guest feedback and listened to what the fans wanted,” said Chef VanderLaan. “In the end, those fans told us they wanted more local foods and restaurant-quality food.”
 
“We are honored to receive this award for our new food and beverage experience at Miller Park,” said Brewers COO Rick Schlesinger. “We view the Miller Park experience as much more than a baseball game, and fan satisfaction is our top priority. With Delaware North and many other partners’ support, this project was a very high priority for stakeholders. It proved to be the largest private financial investment since Miller Park opened, and we couldn’t be happier with the results.”
 
According to VanderLaan, Brewers fans can expect more changes for 2018. The Brewers and Delaware North Sportservice hit the four major Wisconsin food groups in 2017—beer, cheese curds, sausage and frozen custard—but there are potentially a few more unique offerings on tap. “We have some things in the works with local ties,” he said.
 
PHOTO CAPTION: The AJ Bombers Cheeseburger at Miller Park is one of the many food items that helped the ballpark earn recognition for its revamped food program in 2017.