Milwaukee Brewers fans had an unexpected ending to Saturday's 5-3 loss against the Chicago Cubs, as a crowded escalator at American Family Field malfunctioned and sent fans rolling to the next level of the park.
A CHGO Sports producer, Greg Braggs Jr., who was on the ill-fated escalator posted to X, “…it completely gave way with over 100 ppl on it.”
The escalator reportedly collapsed, increasing speed and sent fans hurdling to the floor below.
Another fan who witnessed the malfunction told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “We heard a screeching sound (…) 10 seconds later the escalator picking up speed to probably 10 to 15 miles per hour (…) we saw fans like just plummeting down.”
Eleven people were injured in the incident and six of them were transported to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries.
The escalator serviced sections 425 and 427 of American Family Field, and it was transporting fans from the terrace level to the loge level.
Other fans reported seeing people piling up on top of one another at the bottom of the escalator. Braggs went on to say that, “some elderly people were injured very badly and trampled over.”
“There was an older lady screaming and yelling. That just makes it all worse, just hearing that and when you’re also looking back and there’s blood on the escalator,” a Cubs fan, Ben Castellanos, told TMJ4 News.
The malfunctioning escalator did not re-open for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Cubs. “the escalator will not operate until the cause is determined, repairs are made and the city inspects,” Tyler Barnes, senior VP of communications and affiliate operations for the Brewers, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Castellanos also told TMJ4 News that on Sunday there was stadium staff monitoring the other escalators.
The Milwaukee Fire Department responded to the incident and Chief Lipski said there had not been any similar incidents at American Family Field in the past. This scary incident comes on the tail of the Brewer’s recent agreement with the state of Wisconsin for $500 million in tax funds to be paid over the next 30 years for stadium renovations.
