Secret Stadium Sauce
Secret Stadium Sauce is a Wisconsin condiment associated with Milwaukee Brewers baseball games and sold in retail bottles.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Secret Stadium Sauce is a regional condiment identified closely with Milwaukee Brewers baseball and the food-service operation at the club's ballpark. The sauce was originally developed for use at Milwaukee County Stadium, the Brewers' former home, and remains available at American Family Field, the stadium that replaced it. Its identity is therefore rooted less in conventional supermarket brand building than in a distinctive ballpark-food tradition that became recognizable to generations of Milwaukee baseball fans. The sauce is attributed to Rick Abramson, who was working as a vendor at County Stadium and later became president of Delaware North Companies Sportservice. According to the account of its origin, the stadium concession operation was running short of standard ketchup and mustard during a game in the early 1970s. Abramson combined barbecue sauce, ketchup, mustard, smoked syrup, and other ingredients to create an improvised alternative. Staff presented it to customers as Secret Stadium Sauce, and the temporary solution developed into a named product. Its popularity expanded in the 1980s when baseball broadcaster Bob Costas spoke enthusiastically about eating bratwurst with the sauce during Brewers games. Stories that Costas and fellow broadcaster Tony Kubek arranged their broadcasting duties so they could eat brats with the condiment helped reinforce its association with Milwaukee's stadium cuisine. The product became a local specialty rather than merely an anonymous concession topping. Secret Stadium Sauce is used with hot dogs and bratwursts, but the bottle also promotes broader household use by including a recipe for preparing the sauce as a marinade. Descriptions of its flavor vary considerably, reflecting its blended profile and the difficulty of assigning it to one familiar sauce category. It has been compared with combinations involving barbecue sauce, sauerkraut juice, chili sauce, cocktail sauce, ketchup, clam juice, and sweetened tomato sauce. The brand is produced and marketed by Delaware North Companies Sportservice. In addition to being served at the Brewers' current ballpark, it is sold in 18-ounce bottles through grocery stores throughout Wisconsin. Its positioning is consequently that of a regional heritage condiment and ballpark food souvenir: a product whose appeal comes from local identity, stadium ritual, and a distinctive recipe rather than from nationwide distribution or mass-market advertising.
History
Secret Stadium Sauce originated at Milwaukee County Stadium, the former home of the Milwaukee Brewers. In the early 1970s, Rick Abramson was working as a stadium vendor when concession staff began running short of ordinary ketchup and mustard during a game. He combined barbecue sauce, ketchup, mustard, smoked syrup, and additional ingredients to produce an emergency substitute. Rather than presenting it as a generic mixture, the concession staff gave it the memorable name Secret Stadium Sauce. The improvised condiment gradually became part of the stadium's food culture. Its early role was practical: it provided an alternative topping for customers purchasing hot dogs and bratwursts when the usual condiments were unavailable. Over time, however, the product acquired an identity of its own. Abramson later became president of Delaware North Companies Sportservice, the food-service company associated with the product. The sauce gained wider recognition during the 1980s. Baseball broadcaster Bob Costas publicly expressed his enthusiasm for eating the sauce with bratwurst at Brewers games. Accounts also describe Costas and fellow broadcaster Tony Kubek trading broadcasting responsibilities during games so they could enjoy brats with the condiment. Such endorsements helped turn a local concession item into a recognizable Milwaukee specialty. When the Brewers moved from County Stadium to the facility now known as American Family Field, the sauce's stadium presence continued. It remains served with ballpark foods, preserving a link between the product and Milwaukee baseball despite the change in venue. The brand's appeal is based on continuity and local tradition: fans can encounter it at the current stadium while associating it with the earlier County Stadium era. Secret Stadium Sauce also developed a retail presence. Delaware North Companies Sportservice sells it in 18-ounce bottles at grocery stores throughout Wisconsin. The packaging broadens the product's role from concession topping to household condiment and includes a recipe suggesting use as a marinade. This makes the product suitable for cooking and grilling as well as for serving with sausages and hot dogs. The exact taste is difficult to classify because the sauce combines several familiar flavor families. Descriptions have compared it with barbecue sauce blended with sauerkraut juice, clam juice combined with sweetened tomato sauce, or a mixture of chili sauce, cocktail sauce, barbecue sauce, and ketchup. These comparisons underline its unusual hybrid profile and its distinction from standard ketchup, mustard, or barbecue sauce. Its enduring significance is primarily regional: Secret Stadium Sauce functions as a branded piece of Milwaukee Brewers concession history and Wisconsin food culture.
Creation at Milwaukee County Stadium
[1]Rick Abramson developed the sauce while working as a vendor after the stadium concession operation ran short of ketchup and mustard. The recipe combined barbecue sauce, ketchup, mustard, smoked syrup, and other ingredients.
Recognition through Brewers broadcasts
[1]During the 1980s, broadcaster Bob Costas helped popularize the sauce by talking about eating it with bratwurst at Brewers games.
Continuation at American Family Field
[1]The sauce continued to be served at the Brewers' replacement ballpark, now known as American Family Field.
Expansion into Wisconsin grocery retail
[1]The product became available in 18-ounce bottles through grocery stores throughout Wisconsin, with packaging that also presented a marinade use.
Products and positioning
A regional Wisconsin stadium-food condiment with strong Milwaukee Brewers associations, positioned as a distinctive, versatile sauce for brats, hot dogs, and marinades.
Condiment and marinade sauce
Secret Stadium Sauce
The core product is a blended sauce served with hot dogs and bratwursts at Milwaukee Brewers games. Its reported ingredients and flavor comparisons place it between barbecue sauce, ketchup, mustard, chili sauce, and cocktail-style sauces, with a distinctive sweet, savory, and tangy profile. It is also sold for home use in 18-ounce bottles throughout Wisconsin, and the label includes a recipe suggesting that consumers use it as a marinade.
Recent events
Secret Stadium Sauce remains associated with Milwaukee Brewers ballpark food[1]
Other
The sauce continues to be served on hot dogs and bratwursts at American Family Field, following its origins at the former Milwaukee County Stadium.
Secret Stadium Sauce is sold in Wisconsin grocery stores[1]
Other
The product is available in 18-ounce bottles through grocery stores across Wisconsin, extending the stadium-associated brand into household use.
Sources1 sources
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