Brewers announce controversial schedule change for the 2026 season

With the MLB offseason now officially underway, teams have begun their preparations for the 2026 season. In the coming months, organizations will hire new coaches, reshape their rosters, and make improvements to their ballparks in anticipation of the 2026 season. News of all kinds will drop over the winter, with several key dates serving as checkpoints along the way.

On Monday morning, the Brewers kickstarted their offseason with a small piece of news that is bound to ruffle a few feathers. As first reported by MLB.com's Adam McCalvy, on the social media platform X, the Brewers are changing the start time of their Friday night home games during the 2026 season. Said games, which used to start at 7:10 p.m. CT, will now start 30 minutes earlier at 6:40 p.m. CT.

As noted by McCalvy, all of the Brewers' home weeknight games will now begin at 6:40 p.m. CT. Previously, just those home night games taking place on Monday-Thursday were played at 6:40 p.m. CT, but the decision to include Friday night games on that same schedule is bound to have some fans rejoicing and others agitated.

Brewers announce that Friday night home games will start at 6:40 p.m. CT in 2026, rather than 7:10 p.m. CT

To some, this may seem like an insignificant piece of news, with the difference of a half hour feeling like no more than a minor adjustment. Some may even appreciate the change, as it results in the Brewers game presumably ending a half hour earlier on Friday nights, which could come as a benefit to some schedules.

However, for others, the change could be far more significant. Take, for example, the Brewers fans who are based in Madison or Green Bay. Those in Dodge County stare down a roughly 75-minute trip with no traffic to get to American Family Field, and those up in Green Bay are looking at a drive just under two hours, again assuming no traffic. With a 7:10 p.m. start time, those Brewers fans could get off of work at 5:00 p.m. on a Friday night and still make it in time to see first pitch or at least the Crew's first at-bats in the case of those up in Appleton or Green Bay. Now, with the team starting Friday night games a half hour earlier, that feat becomes far less feasible.

Additionally, the change cuts down on fans’ opportunities for tailgating before Friday night home games. Whereas fans used to have an additional half hour to grill up some brats and perhaps a couple of two-three beers in the sprawling parking lots of American Family Field, now many will have to park and head straight into the stadium or risk missing some game action.

There's certainly a reason behind the switch, and one that fans who are aggravated by the change will no doubt demand to hear in the coming days, but for now, fans are left wondering why the Brewers decided to bump up their Friday night start time by a half hour.