MILWAUKEE -- The traditional Opening Day jog from production plant to home plate will require some rethinking, but otherwise it will be business as usual for the Brewers' iconic racing sausages in 2018 and beyond.
The Brewers on Wednesday announced a long-term agreement with Johnsonville to stock the concession stands at Miller Park and sponsor the gameday race, which began as a scoreboard gambit in the early 1990s, morphed into a live event and grew so popular that it was copied by teams across baseball. The agreement, terms of which were not disclosed, came a day after longtime Brewers sausage maker Klement's said the team had terminated its partnership.

Fans will get their first look at the new branding on Sunday, when the Bratwurst, Italian, Polish, Hot Dog and Chorizo appear at the team's "On Deck" fanfest in downtown Milwaukee.
"We don't [make changes like this] lightly," said Brewers chief operating officer Rick Schlesinger. "We do it deliberately, thoughtfully and only with partners that share our values, have expertise and provide a high-quality product and have a great brand presence locally. It was a great fit with Johnsonville because they check all the boxes that are important to us as a partner."
Johnsonville is not new to Brewers baseball. It was the official sausage of the team from 1978-88.
"We're ecstatic to be back in the stadium," said Shelly Stayer, owner of the Sheboygan Falls, Wis.-based company. "Today is a real tribute to Wisconsin-owned family businesses."

In addition to a new logo on the running mascots, the change means a new provider of sausages and hot dogs at Brewers games for the first time in three decades. Johnsonville will also have naming rights to the Club Level all-inclusive area formerly known as the Dew Deck.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the end of the Brewers' partnership with Klement's on Tuesday after Klement Sausage Co. chief executive officer Tom Danneker announced it to employees in a letter. It said Klement's was surprised by the Brewers' decision to end the deal.