No Cheering Allowed At Milwaukee Milkmen Baseball Games, Thanks To New Local Ordinance
The residents of Franklin, Wisconsin, are a bunch of party poopers.
The city's Common Council has set a noise limit for the Rock Sports Complex — home of the American Association of Professional Baseball's Milwaukee Milkmen. According to the new ordinance, the sound coming from Franklin Field must stay at or below 55 decibels.
Because apparently, the ballpark's next-door neighbors are fed up with all the racket!
"It is a fun place. They just need to keep the noise (down) on their property," local resident Dana Gindt said before telling some skateboarding, rap-music-listening kids to get off her lawn.
I'm just kidding about that last part. Don't sue us, Dana.
Milwaukee Milkmen mascot Bo Vine fires up the crowd at noisy Franklin Field.
(Curt Hogg / Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY Sports)
For those unfamiliar with the logarithmic unit used to measure sound level (I was, too), I gave it a quick Google for some context.
Noise Sources That Contain 55 dB:
- A normal conversation.
- An electric kettle.
- A residential street.
- A radio playing music in the background.
- An electric fan.
- An office reception area.
- A moderately quiet home.
- An electric toothbrush.
There you go, Milkmen fans! Go on and cheer for your team, but just keep it to the low hum of an electric toothbrush! Maybe some golf claps and finger snaps?
A violation could potentially result in a fine, but Mike Zimmerman — CEO of the company that owns the sports complex — doesn't seem worried.
"It’s a debate amongst friends," Zimmerman said. "I don’t think they’re going to arrest me [if the noise ordinance is violated]."
City Ordinance Silences Milwaukee Milkmen Fans
The decision came from a May 7 meeting that lasted more than seven hours.
"It feels like it’s a bit disingenuous in that you allow an entertainment district to be built and then say you can barely more than whisper in that entertainment district," American Association Commissioner Josh Schaub told Milwaukee Magazine. "It seems like there is some sensationalism at play as to how disruptive the sound is in the community."
It goes without saying that post-game fireworks are out of the question. So for the home opener, the Milkmen had to get creative — with a quiet drone light show!
"There are close to 200 professional baseball teams in this country, including MLB, MLB partner leagues and affiliated baseball," Schaub said.
"Franklin has to be the only city, or one of only a few, that isn’t going to allow fireworks at baseball games this season. It’s a punishment to the fans who enjoy the Milkmen bringing to life the things they love, including fireworks. Truthfully, I think the decision is un-American."
He's right. Fireworks are as American as — well — baseball and apple pie. Too bad we're not allowed to cheer for baseball, and we can't chew too loudly when we eat our apple pie.
The only time a baseball stadium stays under 55 decibels.
(Angela Peterson / Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY Sports)
The Milkmen remain hopeful that a compromise can be reached that will allow fireworks to return to the ballpark. And, truthfully, the grumpy neighbors are going to have to get over it somehow.
"The decibel level as it sits is unrealistic," Franklin Mayor John Nelson said. "When you're in the low- to mid-fifties, just with ambient noise and nothing going on, is a huge concern. And that's a decades-old ordinance that I don't think is realistic. So we're working to address that."
The Milkmen, who won the American Association title in 2020 in a COVID-shortened season, hosted the league’s All-Star Game last season. And that was probably slightly louder than 55 decibels.