New Stage For Summerfest

Milwaukee’s Summerfest has begun renovations to its Miller Oasis stage, located on the festival grounds at Maier Festival Park. The Miller stage, which complements the festival’s 23,500-capacity Marcus Amphitheatre, will hold 11,000 after the $3 million renovation, nearly doubling its current size.

The name will change to Miller Lite Oasis upon its expected reopening next summer. It is expected to give Summerfest an effective side stage for Marcus. Currently, the amphitheatre is used as a second stage for weekly ethnic festivals, but it did not have the production capabilities for a touring show, Summerfest entertainment director Bob Babisch told Pollstar.

With another amphitheatre that can handle full production, Summerfest should be able to attract a number of acts that would not be conducive to Marcus.

The new version of the shed is expected to reduce a bottleneck of pedestrian traffic that occurs near the current setup. It will have a rebuilt VIP area, according to Milwaukee’s Business Journal.