Milwaukee Admirals announced as signature sponsor of downtown’s first dog park

MILWAUKEE (April 6, 2023) – The Downtown Dog Park reached another milestone today as project leaders announced the Milwaukee Admirals among the local supporters joining Fromm Family Food as a major corporate sponsor of downtown’s first dog park. The announcement marks a significant step forward as fundraising efforts continue for the future off-leash dog park, which will be adjacent to the Foxtown Landing development, on a long vacant site under the I-794 freeway between the Milwaukee River and Plankinton Avenue.

“Since the launch of the downtown dog park project, we have found multiple ways to partner with the dog park project leaders, including collaborations with our Dog Day games,” said Harris Turer, owner and CEO of the Milwaukee Admirals Hockey Club. “As a team that is active in the community, we understand the important role that pets play in people’s lives. For this reason, we’ve had serious interest in supporting the project from the beginning. We are excited to join other business leaders in improving the quality of life for the greater Milwaukee dog community and their owners with the addition of this much-needed amenity.”

The Milwaukee Admirals launched Dog Day events in 2009 to appeal to an untapped segment of new fans – dog owners. The initial response was overwhelmingly successful as hundreds of dogs and their owners attended the game, prompting the team to add a second Dog Day event after the team moved to the UW Panther Arena to accommodate the event’s growing popularity.

The next Admirals Dog Day event will be held on Friday, April 7. A portion of the proceeds from each ticket sold will go to support select dog-related charitable organizations, including the fundraising efforts for the dog park.

Efforts to build downtown’s first dog park are being co-led by Matt Dorner, economic development director of Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21, and Paul Schwartz, executive director of the Milwaukee Public Market and Third Ward, BID #2. The additional sponsors joining the ongoing fundraising efforts continue to broaden the stakeholders involved in a project that will create a new, highly visible social hub for people and their pets.

The future dog park, located at 103 W. Clybourn Ave., will include separately fenced small and large dog areas, water stations, upgraded lighting, public art, opportunities for community programming, prominent donor recognition, and other pet amenities. It will be adjoined by the 28,000-square-foot Foxtown Landing brewery, distillery, and restaurant development with expansive outside spaces that will cohesively reinvent one of the few remaining parcels along Milwaukee River frontage into a multi-dimensional experience. The overall project will be tied together by a 400-foot segment of new public riverwalk spanning from St. Paul Avenue to Clybourn Street.

“We are thrilled to see the response from the corporate and donor community. Businesses of all sizes and individuals from across the region are seeing the unique value in supporting this project. Not only will it deliver a much-needed community amenity, but it also will redevelop a highly visible, but underutilized site at the juncture of the central business district and the Historic Third Ward,” said Dorner.

The Milwaukee Admirals are part of a growing list of additional area businesses committing support for this project that will make for a more attractive downtown and complement other recent investments. To date, Hempel Companies, Gardner Builders, St. Paul Fish Company, Explorium Brewery, Physicians Realty Trust (NYSE: DOC), the Pritzlaff Building ownership, and others have all pledged support for this one-of-a-kind project.

“These commitments, along with the ongoing conversations we are having with additional sponsors, reinforces the fact that this project resonates with stakeholders of all sizes. The dog park’s value is not only seen by the thousands of residents and individuals who have supported the project, but also by the business community who correlates their company values with the dog park’s mission to continue advancing the greater downtown community,” added Schwartz.

Alongside the purchase of the adjacent land for Foxtown Landing, Fromm Family Pet Foods was announced as the title sponsor of the dog park in late 2022. “We are thrilled to have a number of local brands, companies, and individual donors join us in making this legacy project for downtown Milwaukee a reality,” said Tom Nieman, president of Fromm Family Pet Food. “With dog ownership rapidly increasing in the greater downtown area, others are seeing this project as a natural fit and benefit for the City of Milwaukee. We continue to invite and welcome others to join us in supporting this important community project.”

The Downtown Dog Park is the next improvement project coming out of the strong working relationship the project team has with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Milwaukee County, and the City of Milwaukee to activate underutilized spaces under the freeway bridges to create better connections and community assets. More information, including additional sponsors and project timelines will be released soon. For more information about the project, including sponsorship opportunities, visit www.MKEDogPark.com.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.