Milwaukee, WI
New stadium features, broadcast deal on tap for Milwaukee Brewers 2025 season
Under a new stadium lease agreement that includes $500 million in public funding, the Milwaukee Brewers will kick off the 2025 season next week with some new and ongoing infrastructure improvements at American Family Field.
Projects that have been completed since the Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District approved the new 25-year lease agreement with the Brewers in December 2024 include the installation of new broadcast cabling, the full renovation of the club-level kitchen area and bathrooms, and replacement of all freezer and refrigeration equipment throughout the ballpark. Those projects targeted spaces and equipment that were original to the ballpark, which was built in 2001.
“It’s something the fans may not notice directly, but as infrastructure gets old and deteriorates and becomes antiquated, it needs to be replaced, and these were three projects that were definitely in need of replacement,” said Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger during a press conference Monday as part of the team’s preview week leading up to the season home opener, set for Monday, March 31, against the Kansas City Royals.
Work to winterize the stadium — the costliest and most involved project planned under the new lease — won’t begin until after the 2025 baseball season and will likely take “more than one off season to complete,” said Schlesinger. The purpose of the winterization project is to be able to host large-scale events at American Family Field all year round.
One infrastructure project that will be ongoing throughout the season is the buildout of the baseball operations offices on the terrace level overlooking right field. About 1,600 seats were removed to make way for the project, reducing total seating capacity to 40,100, which Schlesinger said is “still comfortably above the average” for MLB stadiums. He said the Brewers are considering ways to add some of that capacity back to other parts of the stadium over the next few years.
“The ballpark is evolving, it’s ever-changing,” said Schlesinger. “One of the things great about this facility is that it allows and enables us to do different things. So while we’re taking some seats away up in right field on the terrace level, we can add seats elsewhere, we can add more spaces elsewhere, more premium spaces, more fan-friendly areas.”
Other new features fans can expect to see at American Family Field this season is a new food truck park, called The Alley, located on the left field Loge level of the stadium, and a new facial-authentication ticketing system fans 18 and older can use to enter the stadium.
MLB Go-Ahead technology uses a camera that will authenticate fans faces, automatically scanning tickets once identified. The voluntary system will be available at the home plate west and third base gates. The Brewers are one of 10 MLB teams so far to implement the technology, and it’s one way the franchise is working to make the arrival and entry easier and more efficient for fans, said Schlesinger, pointing also to the automated parking payment system the franchise rolled out last season.
“One of the things we’re trying to do with parking and ingress is to make it a much more seamless experience, faster,” he said. “People want to get here, they don’t want to wait in lines, they want come to the ballpark, and we have a lot of cool things we’re showcasing this year for fans to explore in the ballpark. If you can get here faster, that’s a good thing.”
New broadcast deal
Fans who are not watching the Brew Crew from the stadium’s seats this season can catch games live on the FanDuel Sports Network (formerly Bally Sports), thanks to a broadcast partnership the Brewers struck late last year with network owner Diamond Sports Group.
As was the case under the Bally Sports brand, Brewers games will be available on all major cable networks and satellite. They will also be available to stream on either the FanDuel Sports Network app or Amazon Prime throughout the state, in addition to other markets where Brewers games were not previously available including parts of Iowa, Minnesota, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Northern Illinois, according to Schlesinger.
“We’re excited about the high quality they’re gonna bring, and again, for the fan who was used to watching 145 live Brewer games on Bally’s, they’ll have the same experience in 2025,” said Schlesinger.
Remembering Uecker
Schlesinger acknowledged early in his remarks the void that legendary Brewers radio announcer Bob Uecker left in his passing earlier this year. Uecker, who was the primary broadcaster for the Brewers for 54 seasons, died on Jan. 16 at the age of 90 after battling small cell lung cancer since early 2023.
“We’re still sort of dealing with the fact that the legend, the icon, the epitome of Brewers baseball is no longer with us,” said Schlesinger.
The team will honor Uecker in various ways on opening day and throughout the season and plans are still in the works for a public celebration of life event at the ballpark this summer. Details on the event are expected to be announced early next month.
The Brewers on Monday released a new limited line of apparel and merchandise honoring “Mr. Baseball.” The items are now on sale at the Brewers Team Store, with net proceeds benefitting charitable causes supported by Uecker and his family.
Pride Month is here, and Milwaukee is showing up ready to slay with a packed calendar. Whether you’re looking to find love with The Butchelorette, cruise through the city in a Pride motorcycle ride, bring the whole family to the Pride Parade, or dance the night away at PrideFest, there’s something for everyone to uplift and celebrate Milwaukee’s LGBTQ+ community.
1. Milwaukee Film Pride Month Series
ALL MONTH | ORIENTAL THEATRE
Milwaukee Film curated a program of campy, fun, queer films to watch all month long. The “Queerious“ series comprises films that fit into the category of “Historians Would Say They Were Roommates or Good Friends,” including The Color Purple, Challengers, Rope, and Johnny Guitar. And the Summer Camp 2 series features campy classics like But I’m a Cheerleader, She’s the He, Victor/Victoria, and Burlesque. Plus, of course, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, featuring Milwaukee’s Sensual Daydreams cast performing live alongside the film, screening June 13.
2. Pop Pride: In Full Color
JUNE 1-7 | POP WALKER’S POINT
Pop in Walker’s Point has a full slate of events to kick off Pride Month, including bingo, a “Drag Race” watch party, plenty of DJs and a bunch of drag shows, including a day full of performances on June 7 alongside the Pride Parade. See the full lineup here.
RELATED READS: YOUR GUIDE TO THIS YEAR’S PRIDEFEST
3. Queer Oasis with Lou’s Moms
JUNE 4 FROM 4-7 P.M. | CACTUS CLUB
Local DJ duo Lou’s Moms — self-described as having “fantastically omnivorous musical taste” — are spinning tunes to “make your heart swoon” in a celebration of queer community at Cactus Club. This event is free to attend.
4. PrideFest
JUNE 4-6 | HENRY MAIER FESTIVAL PARK
There’s something for everyone at Milwaukee’s annual PrideFest. Whether you want to kick back and relax by the lakefront, shop around local LGBTQ+ vendors, or dance the night away with DJs and drag performances, there’s much packed into the lineup this year.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
5. Ride With Pride
JUNE 6 AT 10 A.M. | DAVIDSON PARK
The world’s largest Pride motorcycle ride is back! It’ll begin at Davidson Park, and the police-escorted ride will go throughout Milwaukee and end at the Harley-Davidson Museum. Everyone who registers will receive a commemorative poker chip, and patches will be available for purchase. Register in person or online here.
6. Drag Queen Story Hour
JUNE 6 FROM 10:30-11:30 A.M. | COLECTIVO PROSPECT CAFE
Stop by Colectivo’s Prospect Cafe for a drag queen story hour to celebrate Pride with the little ones! And while you’re there, you can grab one of their Pride watercolor cookies, too.
7. Milwaukee Pride Parade
JUNE 7 AT 2 P.M. | SECOND STREET IN WALKER’S POINT
With the theme “Together We Are Pride,” the Milwaukee Pride Parade is back for its 22nd year. The first Pride parade in Milwaukee was a political protest. Today, thousands of folks come together for the parade to celebrate the city’s LGBTQ+ community.
8. Pride Parade Watch Party & Flea Market
JUNE 7 FROM NOON-5 P.M. | POMEROY
Get a prime seat for watching the Pride Parade and shop vintage clothing, get a flash tattoo, and sip a cold drink at Pomeroy’s watch party, located right along the parade route.
9. Flour Girl and Flame Pop-Up
JUNE 7 AT 6 P.M. | ESTEREV
Raising money for the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, LGBTQ+-owned Flour Girl and Flame will be whipping up pizzas at EsterEv in Bay View after the Pride Parade until they sell out.
10. Pride Parade Queer Afterparty
JUNE 7 AT 7 P.M. | THE COOPERAGE
Venus Social Club and Pole Factory are teaming up to keep the party going after the Pride Parade. Inside, dance the night away to a lineup of DJs. Outside, watch a show from Pole Factory’s Sapphic Sirens, shop LGBTQ+ vendors, get a tattoo, enjoy a featured drink, or participate in the arm wrestling competitions. The event is for ages 21+, and tickets are available online here.
11. The Sapphic Butchlorette
JUNE 12 AT 10:30 P.M. | CACTUS CLUB
Ever wondered what it’d be like to see a sapphic version of “The Bachelorette”? Well, this is exactly that. Live at Cactus Club, eight contestants will compete for local tattoo artist Syd Lange’s love. Dress formal/semi-formal and be ready to dance the night away at the afterparty with DJ Mya Goetsch and DJ Femme Noir on the music. Get tickets here.
12. Brewers Pride Night
JUNE 12 AT 6:40 P.M. | AMERICAN FAMILY FIELD
From an LGBTQ+ makers market to the national anthem sung by singer/songwriter and sister duo REYNA, the Brewers are hosting a night of celebration for Pride. They’re playing the Philadelphia Phillies. Get tickets here.
13. Read With Pride Romance Book Fair
JUNE 13 FROM 10 A.M.-3 P.M. | BAIRD CENTER
If you grew up on the Scholastic Book Fair, this event is for you. The Well Red Damsel is bringing over 25 romance authors together – along with vendors including The Fruity Studio, Geeky Elves, and Good Stick Co. – for a day celebrating LGBTQ+ love stories. Admission is free, but the event is taking donations on-site for Courage+.
14. Sapphics in the Sun: Picnic
JUNE 13 FROM 1-4 P.M. | LAKE PARK
Milwaukee’s lesbian and sapphic events group CHOSEN is hosting a picnic at Lake Park. It’ll have yard games and music, and it’s bring-your-own snacks, chairs and blankets. RSVP here.
15. Midtown Pride
JUNE 13 FROM 3-7 P.M. | JOY ICE CREAM SOCIAL
Celebrate Pride in Tosa at Joy Ice Cream Social, with family and dance yoga, face painting, DIY tie-dye bandanas, a dunk tank, live music from Billy Goat Rodeo, and food trucks Heirloom and Tots on the Street.
16. Queer Karaoke
JUNE 17 AT 7 P.M. | CACTUS CLUB
The third Wednesday of every month, Cactus Club hosts Queer Karaoke – and, of course, Pride Month is no exception. Sing your heart out and hang out – if you liked it, you can go back the next month.
17. Born This Slay Drag Show
JUNE 17 AT 6:30 P.M. | CAFE CENTRAAL
“Don’t be a drag, just be a queen” at Cafe Centraal at this drag show featuring queens Roxy Toxin, Aubrey del Mar, Blythe, Ayesha Voodoo, and Jezebel Diamond St. Klare. Tickets are available here.
18. Pride Party
JUNE 18 FROM 4-7 P.M. | PRITZLAFF BUILDING COURTYARD
Milwaukee Airwaves and LGBTQ+- and woman-owned Miss Ruby Bridal Boutique are teaming up to bring a Pride party to the Pritzlaff Building. Expect a photo booth, Chase My Creations clothing, and food trucks, including Tots on the Street, Cocina Filipina, Paleteria Yayo and more.
19. Queer Book Club
JUNE 24 AT 6 P.M. | THIRST BOOKS
Thirst Books’ Queer Book Club is aptly having its first meeting during Pride Month. They’ll be reading a spicy sapphic alien romance by Emma Elizabeth. RSVP for free here.
20. Thrift & Sips: Pride Owned Edition
JUNE 27 FROM 11 A.M.-4 P.M. | STYLE POP CAFE
Shop local LGBTQ+-owned thrift and vintage shops and sip a bit of coffee at Style Pop Cafe’s Pride event. There will be lots of clothes, accessories and home decor to browse.
21. Sapphic Paint & Sip
JUNE 27 AT 6:30 P.M. | VIBEZ CREATIVE ART SPACE
CHOSEN is partnering with Vibez Creative Art Space for an evening of sapphic community and art. Tickets include a drink and painting supplies – and plenty of fun to be had. Get tickets here.
See surveillance footage of slapping incident at Riverside High School
Demitrios Visvardis, a former paraprofessional, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery for slapping Shrone Dunn, an 18-year-old with cerebal palsy.
Courtesy of Milwaukee Police Department
When family members of a special education student voiced displeasure with a deferred plea agreement for former MPS paraprofessional Demitrios Visvardis in February, they were told it was fair given his lack of prior offenses.
Visvardis was charged with battery four months earlier in connection with an incident involving Shrone Dunn, 18, of Riverside High School.
“This ain’t nothing but a slap on the wrist,” Tyrone Dunn, Shrone’s father, said during the plea hearing. “We’re looking for justice.”
Milwaukee County Judge David Borowski assured Dunn of District Attorney Erin Karshen’s ability to fully prosecute based on what was known.
But records obtained by the Journal Sentinel through an open records request raise questions about Visvardis’s history, and how much was known before the plea deal was reached.
Visvardis has no prior criminal record, but documents in his personnel file at Milwaukee Public Schools reference a 2024 accusation that he struck a special education student.
In a December 2025 letter filed after a disciplinary hearing, MPS hearing officer Natalie Fluker said the November 2025 incident involving Shrone Dunn was “the second time in a year that [Visvardis has] been accused of slapping a vulnerable student.”
The letter references findings made by hearing officer Gary Johnson during disciplinary proceedings related to the 2024 incident.
Earlier incident also involved slapping
According to the December letter, another Riverside High School staff member expressed concern to Principal Jeff Lasky after witnessing Visvardis slap an intellectually disabled student on October 10, 2024. As with the incident involving Dunn, review of security footage confirmed the allegations.
Visvardis physically kept the student on a vent near an exit on the first floor of the school building despite the student’s multiple attempts to get up, according to the letter. Describing the footage, Johnson wrote, “The student appears to scream and you turn and slap him on the face. You then exit the hallway.”
Visvardis apologized for the incident, stating it was the worst thing he’d ever done.
Milwaukee Public Schools failed to report prior incident
According to the MPS employee handbook, the district generally follows a progressive discipline model that depends on the behavior and frequency of occurrences.
Johnson found the first incident to be “especially egregious, considering the unnecessary and excessive force” used on Student A and recommended a departure from the progressive discipline model. The departure meant Visvardis would be issued a three-day unpaid suspension and required enrollment in a course in nonviolent crisis intervention.
The school district did not directly respond to questions from the Journal Sentinel about whether the police were notified of the incident in 2024. It also declined to say whether Student A’s parents were informed or what steps were taken to protect the student following the incident.
“The safety of our students is our highest priority,” Stephen Davis, a media relations manager at Milwaukee Public Schools, told the Journal Sentinel in an emailed statement. “We cannot discuss the details of any personnel matter, and the current administration would not be able to speak about how a prior case was addressed in 2024.”
But according to Milwaukee Police Department records, no report associated with Visvardis exists since January 2021 beyond the report on his arrest on November 13, 2025. That’s the day after Riverside cameras captured footage of Visvardis slapping Dunn “with an open hand to the left side of face,” according to police records.
Review hearing scheduled for this week
Visvardis is due back in court on Thursday, June 4.
According to the deferred prosecution agreement obtained by the Journal Sentinel, he will be eligible to seek employment in a “school, group home or any other place of employment where he would interact with other vulnerable people” this month, given successful completion of an anger management treatment program.
Meanwhile, the Dunn Family has filed a lawsuit against the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee Board of School Directors, and Visvardis.
April Quevedo covers Metcalfe Park for the Journal Sentinel’s Neighborhood Dispatch. Contact: aquevedo@usatodayco.com.
Neighborhood Dispatch reporting is supported by Northwestern Mutual Foundation, Journal Foundation, Bader Philanthropies, Greater Milwaukee Foundation, and reader contributions to the Journal Sentinel Community-Funded Journalism Project. Journal Sentinel editors maintain full editorial control over all content. To support this work, visit jsonline.com/support. Checks can be addressed to Local Media Foundation (memo: “JS Community Journalism”) and mailed to P.O. Box 85015, Chicago, IL 60689.
The JS Community-Funded Journalism Project is administered by Local Media Foundation, tax ID #36-4427750, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable trust affiliated with Local Media Association, and EnMotive, a subsidiary of USA TODAY Co.
MILWAUKEE — This Fourth of July marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which created the United States of America.
In honor of that milestone, the Milwaukee County Historical Society is launching a new exhibit, “We the People: Milwaukee Stories of Immigration, Citizenship, and Community,” on June 12.
“This is the perfect opportunity to maybe tell a story that isn’t always told,” said Ben Barbera, executive director and president of the Milwaukee County Historical Society. “We can’t necessarily talk about the founding fathers. There weren’t many Revolutionary War battles here. But we can tell a story that is essential to the country.”
That story showcases the real people who came from all over the world for a better life — people who, over time, helped shape the country into what it is today.
The story starts with those who were here first.
“The Indigenous populations of Wisconsin, because without them being pushed out and forced out, we wouldn’t have immigration come to this space,” said Olivia Hoff, community programs manager for the Milwaukee County Historical Society.
The exhibit features photos and artifacts dating back centuries.
“This is a sewing kit that was made from clothing that was worn by people who came here from England,” said Janean VanBeckum, curator of the exhibit. “They were Puritans being persecuted. They came in, settled on the East Coast, and then their family moved here.”
Families from Germany, Poland, Italy and Ireland followed. Decades later, there was a surge of immigrants from Latin America, Asia and parts of Africa.
“When you start the exhibit, you get an identification card of an immigrant,” said VanBeckum. “It’s based on real immigrants, but not any particular person, and you can go around and choose your own adventure to kind of see what happens to your immigrant’s life as they move through the process of coming here and either becoming a citizen or not becoming a citizen.”
The experience includes audio recordings from people who immigrated to Milwaukee and their children.
“This is the humanistic story,” said Hoff. “It really generates empathy too because you are hearing it from the people themselves.”
The exhibit also highlights people who came to the Milwaukee area from within the United States. A major part of Milwaukee’s history is the Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South to the Midwest in the mid-20th century. That history is documented in “We the People.”
Overall, the team at the Milwaukee County Historical Society hopes the new exhibit reminds people of their similarities and shared home as the nation turns 250.
“People can realize that everyone has a similar scope of their life and that we all may be struggling to fight some of the same battles, and that by working together, creating a civic discourse, we can be less divided.”
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