Packers Tailgating Costs Surge Past $340 Per Game; Brat Enthusiasts Begin Carpooling From Milwaukee

WAUKESHA — With Wisconsin diesel at a record $6.19 a gallon, the fuel required to drive a five-person tailgating crew from Waukesha to Lambeau Field and back now costs about $28 per rider, up from $16 in 2024, according to a spreadsheet maintained by Dale Kowalski, 61, who said Thursday that the figure "now sits in the same column as the brats."

Kowalski's crew has held the same traditional budget since 2023: $340 for charcoal, brats, beer, ice, condiments and parking. Adding fuel brings the total to $480 per game, up from $420 in 2024. Fuel is now the largest single line item, edging beer by $8, a ranking Kowalski said he had never seen and did not mention to the crew until the second cooler.

The Spreadsheet

The crew's game-day itinerary is a 262-mile round trip in Kowalski's 2019 Ford F-250 diesel, which returns 11.5 miles per gallon while towing a 14-foot trailer carrying a 36-inch grill. That works out to 22.8 gallons and about $141 in fuel, or $28 for each of five riders. Kowalski's 2024 tab assumed diesel at $3.62.

The rest of the tab has held steady: parking, $60; charcoal, $34; ice, $22; buns, mustard and sauerkraut, $28; 60 brats, $64; and beer, $132. "The brat prices have not moved," Kowalski said. "I credit the brat."

"Used to be you drove up for the brats. Now the brats are the cheap part."

— Dale Kowalski, Waukesha tailgater

The Cooperative

On Tuesday, Kowalski and three other Waukesha residents launched the Lambeau Carpool Cooperative, a private Facebook group whose description states that fuel economics are "no longer sustainable for the average fan." The group had 47 members by Thursday morning, 19 of them from the Milwaukee area, including Bay View, Wauwatosa and West Allis.

Milwaukee members are asked to drive to Waukesha to join the carpool, an 18-mile trip west for a game that is north. Kowalski acknowledged the routing "runs against the direction of Green Bay" and said it is under review by the co-op's routing committee, which consists of himself.

Rick Tesch, 44, of Bay View, said the drive to Waukesha burns about $11 in gasoline, an expense he had not included in his calculations until asked. "That's a separate thing," Tesch said. "That's just getting to the carpool."

The group's posted rules include a $28 fuel share per rider, one item of tailgate food per rider (non-cash), and a pickup time of 7:10 a.m. that includes a 14-minute train contingency, the same figure adopted this week by Hartfield Delivery. The grill trailer is assessed as half a rider.

The Bus Option

The cooperative briefly considered chartering a motor coach. Kowalski obtained a quote of $1,850 for the round trip, which he divided across the group's 47 members to reach $39.36 apiece. That is higher than $28, and the bus was withdrawn from consideration Wednesday.

The first cooperative carpool is planned for the next Packers home game. Asked whether members had considered skipping the tailgate and driving straight to the stadium, Kowalski said the question had been raised in the group's comments and removed.