Case Study: Milwaukee Brewers ensure safe stadium recovery with Thornton Tomasetti emergency response and investigation

Milwaukee Brewers investigate 500-ton crane collapse at American Family Field with Thornton Tomasetti

The Milwaukee Brewers and the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District faced a significant challenge when a 500-ton mobile crane collapsed onto the seating bowl of the under-construction American Family Field in 1999. They retained the engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti to provide emergency response and a structural failure investigation.

Thornton Tomasetti remained on-site for approximately five months to perform stabilization and a comprehensive damage assessment. Their solution included an exhaustive structural investigation and advanced 3D linear, nonlinear, and dynamic finite element analyses to determine the cause of the crane collapse. The work by Thornton Tomasetti supported the stadium's recovery, allowing it to officially open in 2001.

Milwaukee Brewers