Brewers Apologize for Timeless Ticket World Series Seating, Let Holders Keep Both Tickets

Since the Milwaukee Brewers sold 1,000 "Timeless Tickets" in 2015, the pitch has been simple: pay $1,000 once, get into any future game. Now the team is in its first World Series since 1982, and the bill has come due.

Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger said Tuesday that several hundred holders asked to use their tickets for a World Series game. He said the team "erred in our internal communications on the logistics of fulfilling the requests."

The team says everyone who applied got a seat. Some were not happy with where.

What the Brewers are offering

Schlesinger said the team "did not live up to the spirit of the program" and has been "working through a resolution."

Holders who applied before the deadline will be contacted with an update. They can keep their World Series ticket for this year and also keep the Timeless Ticket itself, to redeem for another game in any future season.

"We regret our mistake and look forward to welcoming them to American Family Field for their World Series experience," Schlesinger said.

The Brewers host the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 on Friday, Oct. 23, at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Game 2 is Saturday, Oct. 24.

The fine print and the sales pitch

The program's terms said the ticket could be redeemed for "the best available seat locations, subject to ticket availability at the time of redemption." A redeemer also became eligible to buy three more tickets to that game at full retail price.

The Brewers' position rests on the availability clause. Schlesinger pointed to "extraordinary limitations on available seats" for a World Series that Milwaukee fans have waited 44 years to host.

Fan Danny Fochesato of Milwaukee tells a different story about what was promised. He bought his Timeless Ticket on his 27th birthday, planning to use it if the Brewers ever reached the World Series.

"Back in 2015, that was a big selling point from the salespeople about this," Fochesato said. "They really touted, 'Hey, this is going to be the best available seats. You're getting the priority just behind season ticket holders. Anything the season ticket holders don't have, you'll have dibs at it for the World Series.' That's kind of the story they sold."

The team has not responded to that account of the 2015 sales pitch. Its public statement addresses the seat locations and the internal communications, not what salespeople said a decade ago.

Fochesato's experience

Fochesato tried a trial run in 2018, when the Brewers reached the NLCS and lost Game 7 to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He said the team offered him four seats in the 100 level behind home plate for a hypothetical World Series game.

This year went differently, by his account. He said the redemption form offered only 400-level or standing-room options. Holders could list a preferred game but could not pick one, and then had to wait to learn what they got.

"I immediately was like, 'No, that's bogus,'" Fochesato said.

He said he bargained his way to three 400-level seats for Saturday's Game 2 and one lower-level seat in the right-field corner for Friday's Game 1. While waiting in line for the public sale, he said, he saw better seats available than those he had been offered.

The Brewers have not said how many of the 1,000 original holders sought World Series tickets beyond Schlesinger's "several hundred." They also have not said whether any holders who complained will be moved to different seat locations. Reports differ on that point, with one account saying holders will get "their original seats" for Games 1 and 2. Schlesinger's statement says only that they can retain the World Series ticket they were assigned.

The on-field stakes

The seating dispute lands in a week when the Brewers are heavy favorites on the field. Jacob Misiorowski, who posted a 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts this season, will start Game 1 after 11 days of rest. He went 16 starts at home with a 1.52 ERA.

Misiorowski said on The Pat McAfee Show that he feeds off the crowd. "I need to feel the fans get into it," he said. "This crowd out here in Milwaukee has been the best."

The Rays will counter with Drew Rasmussen, who has allowed three runs over 21 postseason innings.

The remaining question is how many Timeless Ticket holders get a notice before first pitch Friday, and whether the extended voucher is enough for those who say they were promised near-premium seats. The Brewers have said holders who applied before the deadline will be contacted.