The roster isn't the only thing the rebuilding Chicago White Sox are shaking up these days. The team is starting fresh on the beer front, too.

After a three-decade run with Miller Brewing as the team's official beverage partner, the Sox have parted ways with the company after failing to reach a new sponsorship deal this off-season.

Instead, the 2017 campaign will usher in a new era of beer marketing at Guaranteed Rate Field, with Victor N.Y.-based Constellation Brands signing a new three-year deal that makes Modelo Especial the "official import" sponsor of the Sox.

In addition, the team has inked a series of smaller marketing partnerships with local and regional breweries that will more than double the number of beer brands offered at the ballpark this season to close to 100 different labels. Specifics will be revealed at an event later this month, but among the newcomers to the park will be Chicago-based microbrewery Baderbrau and Pollyanna Brewing of suburban Lemont.

Gone will be the prevalent Miller Lite signage that has dotted the ballpark for decades, replaced by the gold and blue imagery associated with Modelo, one of the fastest-growing beer brands on the market, according to Beer Marketer's Insights. The brand will be especially visible in left field at the stadium, with signage on the outfield wall and a new "Casa Modelo" branded bar space on the left field concourse. It will also be shown on the team's video boards in the outfield, behind home plate and along the Dan Ryan Expressway.

It's a business-side change that mirrors the shift in strategy the team is taking with its baseball operation, said White Sox Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Brooks Boyer.

"As we rebuild on the field, we're going to look at new ways to rebuild our fan experience, rebuild relationships that we have with season ticket holders and stakeholders, like sponsors," he said. "We're looking at everything, and this is a big piece."

REACHING THE HISPANIC MARKET

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Ending Miller's long run in the South Side ballpark could be a turn-off for some beer-loving Sox fans, especially given Chicago's reputation as a Miller-drinking town. Miller was more than twice as popular among Chicagoans last year as it was for the general population, according to data from users of bar management software BevSpot.

But the Sox see significant marketing advantages to the team's Constellation partnership in Modelo's popularity among Hispanics—a demographic that has proven to be fertile for the Sox in growing their fan base. Fifteen percent of the fans who went to Sox games last year were Hispanic or Latino—more than double the percentage in 2005, according to the team.

Even if the Sox pull in less revenue from its beer sponsorship than before, the array of beer offerings may help drive more fans into the park.

"(Modelo) makes for an interesting marketing partner, understanding how they're going to be able to reach markets that we're trying to reach," Boyer said, stressing the value of the brand promoting the Sox in its own marketing efforts. "If people aren't coming to the White Sox, we're going to take the White Sox to them. This type of relationship allows us to do that in a bigger and deeper way than we were able to do before."

DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES

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Financial terms of the Modelo deal were not disclosed. But it's likely that the team will be pulling in less revenue from the beer sponsorship category than it did from MillerCoors.

Brewers often pay a premium to be a team's exclusive beer partner. Signing separate domestic and imported beverage deals likely means the Sox will receive less than they would have with a single partner in the category, industry experts say. The Sox's most recent deal with Miller was among its most lucrative corporate partnerships, valued at between $7 million and $10 million per year to the team, according to sources familiar with the agreement.

The team will begin the 2017 season without a single official domestic beer partner, but Boyer left open the possibility of the team adding one to the mix down the line.

What makes it tough for the team is that the circumstances are a lot different now than they were when the Sox and Miller last extended their partnership. The team's last renewal with Miller was announced in early 2006, just months after the South Siders won the World Series.

Now the team is in the early stages of overhauling its roster, trading away some of its top players for prospects and projected to suffer through some growing pains on the field. Meanwhile, the team's attendance has consistently been among the lowest in baseball and its local TV ratings have posted a sub-one average for two straight years.