7 Places to Catch NFL Kickoff in 2024

It’s finally here: Football is back! The 2024-25 NFL season officially kicks off in just a few hours, with the reigning Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Baltimore Ravens before the home-state Green Bay Packers take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil tomorrow evening. In preparation for another season of NFL action, here are seven places to catch all the excitement this football season.
 

But First, A Little History

While Milwaukee is now known as a basketball and baseball town, with the high-flying NBA title-contending Milwaukee Bucks and the N.L. Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers, the city has a long, intertwined history with the National Football League.

From 1922 to 1926, the Milwaukee Badgers were a fixture on the NFL’s calendar. Playing at the now-extinct Borchert Field, the team’s short-lived five-year stint in the league was, for the most part, unremarkable. The team finished toward the bottom of the NFL standings every season except in 2023, where the Milwaukee Badgers placed third under Hall of Fame player-coach Jimmy Conzelman.

After the Badgers disbanded in 1926, Milwaukee was without the gridiron game for six years until 1933, when the Green Bay Packers rolled into town. To attract more fans and revenue from the larger market, the Packers played home games at Borchert Field, then Wisconsin State Fair Park, before settling into Milwaukee County Stadium for the bulk of their time in the Cream City. The team typically played two-to-three of its home games in Milwaukee for the next 60 years, cementing the destination as Packers territory for generations to come.

Where to Watch

With the NFL season officially kicking off tonight, here’s where to catch the Pack or whichever team you back.

Potawatomi Casino | Hotel Sportsbook

It’s hard to think of a more perfect place to watch your favorite team win, your biggest rival lose, MLB playoff action and English Premier League soccer with just a turn of your head. Potawatomi Casino | Hotel’s new Sportsbook really has it all. The space boasts a 2,000 sq. ft. video wall, showing sporting action around the clock. With space for up to 200, a top-notch bar, delicious bites from The Kitchen and free parking, Potawatomi’s Sportsbook is a safe bet for an optimal sports-viewing experience.

Major Goolsby’s

A bar and restaurant loaded with sports history in every square inch, Major Goolsby’s has been a pre-game stop before Milwaukee Bucks, Milwaukee Admirals, Milwaukee Wave and UW-Milwaukee Panthers games for 50 years. The classic bar atmosphere, downtown location and ample seating also make Goolsby’s a great place to catch all the NFL action on one of the many TVs hanging throughout.

The MECCA Sports Bar & Grill

Catch an NFL game in the shadow of an NBA stadium at The MECCA Sports Bar & Grill in Deer District. Located right across from Fiserv Forum, the five-year-old space offers 100+ TVs, including the star of the show, a 42-foot-wide screen playing the game of the day with a gameday atmosphere that rivals most stadiums.  

Steny’s

Heading just five minutes south of downtown to Walker’s Point, we have one of the city’s best hockey bars, Steny’s. While known for highlighting all of the action on the ice during hockey season, Steny’s is a quality sports bar that packs the house for Packers, Brewers, Bucks and all the marquee games you want to see on their many TVs.

Jack’s American Pub

You may remember Jack’s American Pub for its eyebrow-raising promotion of free booze when the Jets lose. The bar announced it would cover patron’s tabs whenever former Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the Jets lost. Sadly, this unique promotion only lasted about four plays…when, well, you know…but hey, at least if you’re a Jets fan, you know they’ll be showing the game!

Milwaukee Brat House – Shorewood

Up in the North Shore suburb of Shorewood, Milwaukee Brat House has you covered from every angle (including outside) for NFL games. With ample seating and, as their name suggests, a wide selection of the Cream City staple, brats, in creative forms like the Jalapeno Popper Mac N’ Cheese (which includes almost exactly what you think it does) and The Johnny Utah (a bourbon sausage with pulled pork and slaw on a hoagie roll), along with shuttles to Brewers games, you can make it a sporting double header!

Camp Bar – Third Ward

If you’re a Packers fan, where better to wear your cheese head and cheer the green and gold to victory than the cozy ambiance of a cabin in the Northwoods? At Camp Bar in the Third Ward, you can do just that. Surrounded by wood, with the aesthetic of a bar you’d find among the pines up north, the bar boasts plenty of space and TVs to catch the Packers. Bears fans will feel right at home, too, as they’re greeted by a former bear (albeit stuffed and likely not from Chicago).

Honorable Mention: Cactus Club Packers Watch Parties

Forget the Super Bowl halftime show. It’s all about the halftime concert at the Cactus Club during Packers games. Chant “Go Pack Go” with hundreds of your best friends as you back the Pack at this cozy club in Bay View. Then, at halftime, see a show from one of the city’s rising stars as a local performer sets the stage for the second half.

Honorable Mention: The Beer Garden at Deer District

With beautiful weather on the horizon for the first couple of months of the season, for select Packers games, head to The Beer Garden at Deer District for a little al fresco football in the open air and laidback atmosphere of Deer District. Check ahead to make sure the game’s streaming.

Honorable Mention: The Yard at Bayshore

Nestled inside Bayshore in Glendale is The Yard, with a massive screen to stream all of the local sporting events. Throughout the fall, you can catch Brewers, Packers and even select UW-Badgers games on the big screen in a relaxed, family-friendly setting.

NFL Draft Weekend 2025 HQ: Milwaukee

The pick is in! With the first pick in the 2025 NFL Draft…Milwaukee! The NFL Draft is headed to Green Bay this spring, and we’ve got you covered with everything you need to make Milwaukee your draft HQ. Just 90 minutes south of Green Bay, book your stay and make it to the draft and back in a day.