In 1987, the Greater Milwaukee Committee formed a task force to study the possibility of renovating the old County Stadium or constructing a new ballpark for its National League baseball team, the Milwaukee Brewers. In April 1988 the Brewers Task Force recommended the construction of a new stadium with a targeted opening day at the start of the 1992 season. In 1990 the then-president of the Brewers, Bud Selig, gave a qualified endorsement to the approved site in the Menomonee Valley, and a new target date was set for 1994.
The next few years of the park's history involved wrangling over the costs and sources of finance for the new park. Legislation authorizing state financial assistance was passed by the State Assembly, with concurrence by the Senate, on July 3, 1991, and in November, as part of the preparations for transition, the Brewers were given operating responsibilities for County Stadium. As environmental impact studies and related tests were conducted, the Brewers made a major announcement on February 26, 1994. Two decisions were publicly announced: first, the team proposed that a public/private partnership be formed to finance the new park, and second, the new park would be designed with a convertible roof. In response to the first point, Governor Tommy Thompson in March 1994 formed the Governor's Milwaukee Stadium Commission to evaluate and report on all possible financing options. Also in that month the State Senate voted to allow a statewide referendum on whether to establish new state lottery games to help finance the park. The Commission presented its findings in February 1995, containing six financing options; only two months later the people of Wisconsin rejected the call for a new lottery by a 2-1 margin. On August 19, 1995, the Brewers, Governor Thompson, Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament, and Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist announced an agreement on a Memorandum of Understanding, which included a 30-year lease commitment and an upfront financial commitment of $90 million from the Brewers, and a one-tenth of one-percent sales tax and one-percent hotel-motel room tax increase for Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties to finance $160 million of the total $250 million stadium cost. Following public hearings, the addition of Racine County to the taxing district, and the elimination of the hotel-motel room tax, the State Assembly in September and the Senate in October voted to approve the public finance plan. Governor Thompson signed legislation for public financing into law at County Stadium on October 12, 1995.
On January 1, 1996, the new taxes went into effect in the five counties affected (the three mentioned above plus Washington and Ozaukee). Two months later, on March 21, the new stadium received a name - Miller Park - after a 20-year, $41.2 million deal between the Brewers and Miller Brewing Company. Financing hit a number of snags throughout mid-1996 which slowed the initial stages of preparation, including resistance from a number of citizens that, in one instance, went all the way to federal court before being denied. However, alliances between local business leaders, public officials, and the Brewers eventually prevailed, especially after June 29, 1996, when the team unveiled a new plan involving a number of low-interest loans from several foundations, the City of Milwaukee, and the local business community. Digging for the park on the site of old County Stadium's centerfield parking lot began on October 21, 1996.
Construction lasted through the next several years. The Brewers began their “last season” in County Stadium on April 16, 1999, but a major accident occurred on July 14, 1999 that slowed construction. A large crane collapsed while placing roof panels, and three workers were killed. The tragedy pushed back the opening date from April 2000 to April 2001. On March 30, 2001, an exhibition game was played in Miller Park between the Brewers and the Chicago White Sox, and the first official game was played on Opening Day, April 6, 2001.
