PADDOCK LAKE, Wis. — For 20-year-old Leah MacDonald and her 54-year-old father, Dirk MacDonald, attending a Milwaukee Brewers World Series game together was supposed to be the experience of a lifetime. Instead, the two lifelong Kenosha County residents are devastated after spending $3,278.09 on tickets, only to be notified by StubHub late Thursday night, October 22, that their tickets were unavailable, just hours before the Brewers were scheduled to take on the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the World Series.
The father and daughter purchased two tickets on October 15 for seats in Section 102 at American Family Field in Milwaukee. The tickets cost $1,175.42 each, with an additional $687.24 in fees and $240.01 in taxes, bringing the total to $3,278.09. The family provided Kenosha County Eye with screenshots of their purchase receipt, emails from StubHub, and the company’s website showing that replacement tickets were unavailable.
From Tickets Confirmed To Tickets Unavailable
According to the documentation reviewed by Kenosha County Eye, StubHub initially sent an email notifying the family that their tickets were ready. However, at approximately 11:08 p.m. Thursday, the company sent another email advising that the tickets needed to be replaced.
The email instructed the family to immediately review replacement options under StubHub’s FanProtect Guarantee, warning that availability could change and that delaying their selection could make it difficult to receive tickets in time for the event. But when the MacDonalds attempted to obtain replacement tickets, they encountered another disappointing message from StubHub’s website: “Replacement tickets unavailable right now.”
The website informed the family that no replacement tickets were currently available and offered the option of requesting a refund of $3,278.09, which could take up to eight business days. The family was left without the tickets they had purchased and without any immediate replacement for the highly anticipated game.
A Father-Daughter Dream Years In The Making
For Leah and Dirk, this wasn’t simply about watching a baseball game. Their family’s connection to Milwaukee baseball stretches back generations, and the opportunity to attend a World Series game together carried special significance.
Leah explained that her family has called Kenosha County home for three generations. Her grandfather, who once tried out for the Milwaukee Braves before being drafted into military service during the Korean War, went on to work as an attorney in Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee counties. Her father, Dirk, also served in the military, receiving an honorable discharge before dedicating his career to law enforcement. For the MacDonalds, baseball, public service, and deep roots in southeastern Wisconsin have been part of their family’s history for generations.
Both Leah and Dirk are graduates of Westosha Central High School. Dirk graduated in 1990, and Leah followed in his footsteps 35 years later, graduating on June 5, 2025. Leah is now continuing her education, attending school in preparation for a career in pre-law, potentially following in her grandfather’s footsteps in the legal profession.
Just last month, on September 26, Leah celebrated her 20th birthday by attending a Milwaukee Brewers game with her father at American Family Field. The two posed for a photograph together while sitting inside the stadium’s oversized baseball glove, smiling in their Brewers clothing.
Less than a month later, they were preparing for an even bigger baseball experience: watching their beloved Brewers compete in the World Series.
Leah explained that she and her father deliberately chose to attend the World Series in Milwaukee, even though traveling to Tampa Bay would have been less expensive when factoring in tickets, airfare, a rental car, and a hotel. They wanted to support their hometown team in Wisconsin, where their family has lived for three generations. Despite their family’s history of military service, law enforcement, and the legal profession, Leah emphasized that they are simply ordinary, hardworking residents who wanted to enjoy a baseball game together.
The MacDonalds had already prepared for the occasion. Their Brewers clothing was ready, food had been purchased, and the family was planning to enjoy a celebration before heading to American Family Field.
Instead, they went to bed Thursday night wondering whether they would be able to attend the game at all.
“This was a lifelong dream of ours,” Leah told Kenosha County Eye, explaining that she and her father had grown up sharing a love of baseball. She described learning that their tickets were unavailable just hours before the game as mind-boggling.
“It’s just not right,” she said.
Another World Series Ticket Controversy Involving Kenosha Residents
The MacDonalds are not the only Kenosha County residents to experience frustration involving tickets to the Brewers’ historic World Series appearance.
As reported by TMJ4 News earlier this week, Kenosha brothers Kevin and Kyle Deaton were involved in a separate controversy over the Milwaukee Brewers’ handling of a special ticket promotion dating back to 2015.
The brothers each purchased a $1,000 “Timeless Ticket” more than a decade ago, believing the tickets would provide access to the best available seating at a future Brewers game, including the World Series. When they attempted to redeem their tickets for this year’s championship series, they were initially offered terrace-level seats or standing-room-only options.
The brothers argued that those options did not honor the original spirit of the promotion. Following media attention and complaints from ticket holders, the Brewers acknowledged problems with the program and announced accommodations for affected fans.
The Deaton brothers subsequently told TMJ4 that the Brewers contacted them and arranged better seats, allowing them to attend the World Series. The brothers were so appreciative that they purchased two additional tickets to give away to other Brewers fans.
While the Deaton controversy involved tickets sold directly by the Brewers, the MacDonalds’ situation involves StubHub, a third-party ticket resale marketplace. Both situations have raised questions about the challenges facing fans trying to attend one of the most anticipated sporting events in Wisconsin in decades.
Kenosha County Eye Contacts StubHub
Kenosha County Eye contacted StubHub’s media relations department Friday morning, October 23, seeking an explanation for what happened to the MacDonalds’ tickets and asking whether the company would intervene to help the family attend the game.
The publication provided StubHub with the names of the customers and the order numbers appearing in the family’s documentation. Kenosha County Eye also asked why the family was initially informed that their tickets were ready, only to be told shortly before the game that the tickets needed to be replaced.
Other questions included whether the original seller failed to deliver the tickets, why replacement seats were unavailable, and whether StubHub would provide comparable or better tickets at no additional cost.
Kenosha County Eye specifically urged StubHub to act before Friday night’s 7 p.m. first pitch, emphasizing that the family was not seeking a financial windfall but simply wanted the opportunity to attend the game they had paid thousands of dollars to see.
As of publication, StubHub had not immediately responded to Kenosha County Eye’s inquiries. This story will be updated if and when the company responds.
For Leah and Dirk MacDonald, the hope remains that they will somehow find themselves inside American Family Field Friday evening, cheering on the Brewers together, rather than watching from home after spending more than $3,200 on an experience they may never get to enjoy.
4 Responses
This just happened to my husband and friend this morning. How is this legal!!
we need to end the resale market
And then they hold their money “hostage” on top of it? They can’t even try to get them on the secondary market, if their willing to spend more, because they not gonna refund them until after the series is over? Thats absolute BS. Kicking them while they’re down imo
Same thing happened to me. Had tickets. Section 130.. Waiting for tickets to be available. Woke up this morning and was told delivery was unavailable and offered replacement of standing room only.. I was in tears all morning.. I feel scammed and devastated all at once. Stub hub no help