Wisconsin State Fair Park : Dairy Bowl

[The Green Gull]

I moved this thread to off the court as the idea of the dairy bowl can certainly be utilized for football (UFL), soccer (MLS), high school events, and concerts.

The Wisconsin State Fair Park was home to the football stadium informally known as the Dairy Bowl. It was here that the NFL’s Green Bay Packers were hosted when they played in Milwaukee from 1934 to 1951. The NFL Championship game was played there in 1939 with the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants, which is the only NFL Championship game to be ever played in Wisconsin.


Here's a few links pertaining to the glory days of the Dairy Bowl at the Wisconsin State Fair:

• www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/137099008.html
• www.racingnation.com/story.asp?aid=617
• www.westallis.org/wisconsin-state-fair-park.php

Photos of the Dairy Bowl at the Wisconsin State Fair:

[The Green Gull]

The following would have to be done for the Dairy Bowl to come back:

• The pit stop lane would have to be relocated to the opposite side of the track to allow room for the football field to lay flush against the race track in order to minimize the grandstand and the field.
• Build a locker room facility inside the track near the field.
• Utilize portable bleachers to surround the field for games or events.

In this scenario the race track would still be viable as a race track while utilizing the Grandstand and the facility for possible football (UFL), soccer (MLS), concerts and other entertainment events.


Current Wisconsin State Fair Racetrack:





Proposed site with the field and locker room facility on non-game days:





Proposed Site with the field and locker room facility on game days (The Dairy Bowl):

[Pantherholic]

The UFL no longer exists. In the unlikely event the USFL is resurrected, I don't see Milwaukee being a viable candidate.

I doubt MLS would be coming here even with MLS getting its wish for a second NYC team.

[PantherU]

Any second-tier football league is going to fail in Milwaukee.

MLS likely won't happen here without a huge groundswell of support from soccer fans who want to see it happen, much like what just happened in Indianapolis. There are a ton of soccer fans in this city, and I'm sure an MLS team would sell, but the diehards are far more interested in cheering on their favorite European club at the Highbury or Nomad than putting together a group to push for MLS.

Even with that push, it could be like Indy and just net them an NASL team. Which wouldn't be the worst thing in the world; US Soccer is really trying to push the envelope to grow both leagues. We wouldn't sell nearly as much, but an MLS team would net around 20,000 a game and a successful NASL team only needs around 5k.

There are investors; there are a lot of oil heirs in the middle east who love sports and are willing to spend their money on soccer teams regardless of their location, even in the United States. But there needs to be support there, and thus far we haven't seen it.

I'll be looking very closely to see if Nomad gets its wish to pack the Park East corridor for World Cup viewing. If they do...that could be the groundswell needed.

Personally, I'd love to see Bayern Munich use an NASL franchise to grow players...hell, why not call them Bavarians FC? Connect them with the Bavarians that exist; most MLS franchises now have their own youth training clubs, a couple of Real Salt Lake youth players were recruited to the Panthers this year.

Anyways, soccer could happen. But if an MLS team is going to happen, it'll be with a real stadium, not some slapdick Milwaukee Mile frankenstein.

Of the 19 teams in MLS, most of them began play in football stadiums; they were the ones that existed and had enough space for crowds. Over the last ten years, almost all are in soccer-specific stadiums between 18k and 30k seats. Only three still play in football stadiums: New England, DC United, and the Seattle Sounders. DC United is in the process of planning a new soccer-specific stadium, and the Sounders are pulling in way too many people to build a run-of-the-mill soccer-specific stadium. If the Sounders do build one, it's likely to be 45-50k; but it's doubtful they will, as CenturyLink Field does perfectly well for soccer and their attendance will likely continue to rise with Clint Dempsey in the mix.

This is how I think it happens, if it does. The Nomad plan for the 2014 World Cup is a resounding success. thousands flock to the Park East corridor to watch USMNT matches and the knockout stage. While there, groups of fans realize that they wish they had top-flight soccer in town, not just always on TV. Perhaps a group will recognize before this and organize a website and meetings to capitalize on the crowds at the party. This group that emerges will not be unlike the Brickyard Battalion in Indianapolis. People who want soccer in the city and see the group - people like Marty Greenberg - will have the means to go find investors willing to buy a team. They'll commission a new study to see whether or not Milwaukee would support a club. Depending on the size of the "Milwaukee Battalion," we'll either see a push for NASL or MLS from the investors. That study comes back with a resounding "yes, Milwaukee can support it" - not unlike the last one - and the investors will petition MLS for a team. The investors will search for a space to build the stadium and developers who will organize construction; my guess is that if the Park East corridor is the home of the team, then the developers will probably build the stadium on the cheap if they get to own space adjacent or connected that includes retail, restaurants, hotels etc.

If the groundswell was big enough, Milwaukee will start an MLS franchise from scratch. If it wasn't, Milwaukee will start with an NASL franchise. If the NASL team has enough support, they will eventually dissolve to make way for an MLS franchise with the same ownership group, coach, and brand - just like Montreal and Vancouver did to get to MLS and what will likely happen in Indianapolis.

Personally, I think soccer is Milwaukee's ticket to remaining a major sports town. Investors know that the Bucks aren't going to be profitable unless they can pull a player like Kevin Durant out of the draft, and that's a once-in-a-franchise kind of player. The soccer community is very large in Milwaukee, people just don't see them because they're not organized and most of it is built around playing the game.

[PANTHERfan]

Milwaukee's best chance to secure a MLS team happened about 5 or 6 years ago when Peter Wilt from the Chicago Fire was aggressively working to secure a stadium deal in the Park East, along with a franchise. If there was ever a guy to do it, it was him. If I remember correctly, he had a significant number of pre-sales for season tickets.

It's too bad that never materialized. When the Park East option was pulled from consideration, he made a last ditch effort to try and use the Mile. This was a compromise on many levels and never got much traction. Personally I think this has to be in its own stadium since we have no other appropriate place to put it.

There's no question that Milwaukee (and SE Wisconsin) is very pro soccer (football). The Nomad drew over 6,000 to Brady Street for the final game which featured two ethnic groups that aren't well represented in the city. The 2014 Park East world cup will undoubtably draw tens of thousands regionally and will put the spotlight on Milwaukee for a month. This will be one of, if not the biggest fan zones in the US. So who knows, maybe it will spark an old flame?

The problem now is the MLS has expanded a couple times already. I'm not sure how we would fit into future expansion plans. To boot, we're in a terrible political environment to get this done. The 'burbs are already up in arms over the thought of building a new arena for the Bucks and MU. Imagine throwing this into the discussion? It would have to be 100% privately financed, even though it would be a great cultural addition to the area.

[illwauk]

I've softened my stance on whether or not Milwaukee football would be worth having if the stadium can't be built near campus. I still say that having something no further from campus than downtown is ideal, but plenty of football programs in large, urban areas don't play on campus. UCLA plays in Pasadena, Miami plays in... well, Miami... but their campus is in Coral Gables, etc.

Still, the facility as you described isn't even as nice as most of the D3 facilities in the state.

As for MLS... I say renovate Engelmann so that it can play host to an NASL club. No way would MLS take a chance on a place like Milwaukee without a MLS-ready facility in place if not for the established success of a second division (NASL) club.