Expos account ribs Brewers roof leak, and reminds us it could be worse

Despite the roof being closed, rain pours down near the centerfield television camera position during the eighth inning of the Milwaukee Brewers game against the Toronto Blue Jays Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

When the Brewers stadium opened in 2001, it featured 12,000 tons of roof spread over seven panels (five retractable), controlled by an engine, that met in the middle in a fanning effect. The first-of-its-kind design in North America wasn't meant to be airtight and has experienced water leakage in severe weather over the years, with reactive maintenance often done to repair areas vulnerable to leaks.

Montreal, of course, doesn't actually have the market cornered on stadium roof issues. The Tampa Bay Rays returned to Tropicana Field this season after spending 2025 in the New York Yankees spring-training complex, the result of a shredded roof during Hurricane Milton in late 2024.

Wisconsin sports fans will also remember the roof collapse of the Metrodome, the former home of the Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings, because of massive snowfall in 2010.

Though particularly severe weather has led to in-game roof leaks over the years, Brewers games haven't been postponed as a result. One game was postponed by a power outage during the stadium's inaugural season in 2001, and the team sat through a nine-minute rain delay in 2019 when a storm arrived quickly before the roof could be closed.

Flooding around the stadium April 15, including enough to close Brewers Boulevard and a key exit leaving the stadium, had been cleared in time for the April 16 day game back at American Family Field.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Expos account ribs Brewers roof leak at American Family Field