For the first time since 1982, the Milwaukee Brewers are back in the World Series. As you might imagine, that's made tickets to Games 1 and 2 at American Family Field nearly impossible to get your hands on — TickPick currently lists the get-in price at just north of $2,500, meaning Milwaukee is essentially treating this as its own personal Super Bowl.
Some lucky fans, though, won't have to worry about that. They've got their spot already secured, all thanks to an investment they made when the team was at its lowest over a decade ago. It's called the Timeless Ticket, and while it seems like something out of Willy Wonka, it's threatening to wreak havoc on this year's Fall Classic.
This morning we announced new benefits to the #Brewers Timeless Ticket: http://t.co/4z1DubXVIS pic.twitter.com/xGVciwcBor
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) January 13, 2015
What is the Brewers’ Timeless Ticket?
Back in January of 2015, the Brewers were a far cry from the NL Central behemoth we know now. They'd finished the 2014 campaign in a distant third place at 82-80, the third of what would be six straight seasons without a playoff appearance.
Desperate to keep fans invested amid a dark period, Milwaukee's marketing team came up with a novel idea. They unveiled what they called a Timeless Ticket: Any fan willing to drop $1,000 would receive a solid brass ticket engraved with their name on it, redeemable for one seat at any future home game of their choosing — yes, even World Series games.
What did the $1,000 ticket promise?
The Brewers were very clear that there were no strings attached. Just take it from the team's own promotional page, which is still active: "Whether it's this season, the year 2050, or the 7th game of the World Series, all are valid games to redeem a Timeless Ticket."
No expiration date, no restrictions. As long as the Brewers were participating in a Major League game at American Family Field, the Timeless Ticket entitled you to be there. It also entitled you to bring family and friends: According to the Brewers website, redemption of a Timeless Ticket also allowed the owner to purchase up to three additional tickets for face value ("subject to ticket availability at the time of the redemption").
Only 1,000 Timeless Tickets were sold. And as the Brewers grew into a perennial National League contender, many owners decided to cash in on one of the team's many, many trips to the postseason (eight times in nine years since 2018). Those who waited, though, are now rewarded with a historic opportunity: a guaranteed seat at the first World Series game in Milwaukee in more than four decades.
Except, well, the reality hasn't been quite so simple.
Why are some holders unhappy with their World Series seats?
In order to redeem their Timeless Ticket for the 2026 World Series, fans were required to fill out a form by Saturday, Oct. 17 — two days after the Brewers wrapped up their NLCS win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. On Monday, the team let every Timeless Ticket holder who had applied by the deadline know which game they'd be attending and where their seat would be.
Some fans, however, aren't happy about just which seats they've been given. The language on the information card that came with every Timeless Ticket said in no uncertain terms that fans were entitled to "the best available seat locations, subject to ticket availability at the time of redemption". But according to a fan who spoke with Milwaukee's NBC affiliate, the team hasn't lived up to that promise.
"This has to be a mistake," Kyle Deaton said when he and his brother, Kevin, saw what they'd been offered for their Timeless Ticket. "It's terrace level; that's level four. That's not the best available seat. And [the ticket rep] said, 'Yeah, I'm not going to argue that there's better seats available. This is what's being allocated to the Timeless Ticket holders.'"
On the one hand, I'm sure it's stressful for the Brewers to try and manage the overwhelming demand for such a historic home game — especially given that they only have a few days to do it before Game 1 rolls around on Friday night. But a promise is a promise, and the language on the Timeless Ticket leaves no room for ambiguity. These were the fans that were with you when nobody else was, when hosting a World Series game seemed almost impossible to imagine. And now that it's finally here, you're leaving them all in the fourth deck?
It's hard not to feel like Milwaukee isn't doing right by its most loyal supporters. No one's expecting you to put them in the first row behind home plate; surely, though, "best available" can't possibly refer to an upper-level terrace. From here, it sure seems as though the Brewers are prioritizing making as much money as possible over showing basic loyalty, which is not the message you want to be sending ahead of one of the biggest games in franchise history.
Can Timeless Ticket holders still redeem their tickets?
Unfortunately, the deadline has already passed. Timeless Ticket holders had until this past Saturday to fill out the requisite form and redeem their ticket for a spot at this year's World Series. Anyone who failed to do so will just have to wait until the next time the Fall Classic comes around — although with the way these Brewers are rolling right now, that might be as soon as next October.
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