 County
Stadium
Milwaukee, WI
County Stadium, built mainly for a baseball team was the second
home to the Green Bay Packers for more than four decades. Talk of
a new stadium in the Milwaukee area were first discussed in the
early parts of the 20th century. By November 1950, after years of
discussion and planning, construction on a new stadium began. Built
on the site of an old garbage dump, the stadium would be able to
host numerous events, but was built mainly for baseball.
Constructed of
steel and concrete, the stadium was completed in April 1953 when
the Milwaukee Braves (MLB) played the first game at County
Stadium. It had a seating capacity of just over 28,000
when it opened and was built to be expandable. The stadium
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 in
various parts of the outfield.
The Packers, who became
part of the NFL in 1921, played part of their home games in
Milwaukee for over six decades. Although Green Bay was the Packers
home, the team played several games each season in order to have a
larger fan base in Wisconsin. In Milwaukee the Packers played at
Borchert Field (1933-35), State Fair Park (1936-1957) and
Marquette Stadium (1952) before playing their first game at County
Stadium on September 27, 1953 against the Cleveland Browns.
By 1955 the NFL threatened to move
the Packers permanently to County Stadium if a new stadium was not
built for the team in Green Bay to replace City Stadium. However
bonds were passed allowing for construction of Lambeau Field.
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 Throughout its history
County Stadium was expanded, beginning in 1954 when the grandstand
was double decked down the foul lines increasing the seating
capacity to over 43,000. For four seasons, 1966 through 1969, the
Packers were the only tenant at the stadium, as the Braves moved
to Atlanta. Baseball returned to Milwaukee in 1970 when the
Seattle Pilots moved to the city and became the Brewers.
The Packers played nearly half
of their home games at County Stadium for 41 years. In order for
football to be played at the stadium, the bleachers behind the left field
wall were moved into the playing area in left field. The gridiron
was laid out over the infield and right field. Because of the
field configuration, both football teams had to share the same
sideline. The north endzone was so close to the third base dugout,
oftentimes a player would disappear into the dugout after scoring.
In the early 1990s after the Packers home in Green Bay Lambeau Field had
been upgraded with more luxury suites, the team decided to move all
of its home games there. The Packers played their last home game
at County Stadium on December 18, 1994 against the Atlanta
Falcons. The Brewers continued to play at County Stadium for six
more seasons before moving into Miller Park in 2001. County
Stadium was demolished in December 2000 and is now the site of a
little league baseball field.
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