AMERICAN FAMILY INSURANCE AMPHITHEATER - PHASE I

American Family Amphitheater Renovation is located on Milwaukee World Festival Grounds in Milwaukee, WI. Hunzinger is serving as Construction Manager/General Contractor for the complete redesign of the 30 year old amphitheater to enhance the overall live music experience and provide expanded production capabilities to attract the largest artists and tours.  The new American Family Insurance Amphitheater will feature a new seating bowl configuration and raised stage to allow for better sight lines, enhanced accessibility, expanded concourses, new video screens, reimagined food and beverage operations, new VIP hospitality areas, additional restrooms, and much more when complete in May 2020.  EUA is the architect for the project.

Hunzinger completed Phase 1 which included successfully raising the roof of the American Family Insurance Amphitheater to almost twice the height of the current roof, from 39 feet to 65 feet.  Raising the roof was a challenging feat that called for extensive pre-planning, bringing the right experienced team members together, and precision execution that involved critical engineering analysis and highly skilled tradespeople.  Approximately half of the current roof was raised, from the stage out to the end of the current reserved seating sections 1-3, which is approximately 24,100 square feet (1/2 acre), and weighing 607,000 pounds. 

The roof structure was lifted with 8 Strand Jacks using the Amphitheater’s permanent structural system. It’s a very high tech, efficient and safe method that required constructing a minimal temporary structure to accomplish the lift. Each strand jack’s capacity varies from 95 tons to 201 tons, depending on location.  The Strand Jacks work in unison, controlled by a computerized Master Panel.  This system allows the roof structure to be lifted gradually and uniformly.