This season will be a big one for the summer-collegiate Northwoods League: Besides new teams in Kenosha and Kalamazoo, the Wisconsin Woodchucks will be playing at a renovated Athletic Park.
A Civilian Conservation Corps-funded and constructed facility that was once a longtime home to Midwest League and Wisconsin State League baseball (John Henry Moss, of all people, ran a Tigers farm team out of this ballpark for three seasons), Athletic Park been the home to Northwoods League baseball since the circuit was founded. As it stood, it was a smaller ballpark with a modest grandstand and bleacher seating.
The $3-million renovation, which should be completed for the May 30 season opener, features new theater-style grandstand seating, new luxury boxes and upgraded concessions. From the Wausau Daily Herald:
The new grandstand will be 50 feet tall, 20 feet higher than the old one, Treu said. It features 288 new seats behind the batters boxes that begin 30 feet behind home plate instead of the previous 50 feet, bringing fans closer to the action.
The top level will include new luxury suites, which can be sectioned off in to separate rooms and hold eight to 50 people total.
The new grandstand will also feature bathrooms — the old version had none — and an elevator.
RELATED STORIES: Wausau’s Athletic Park set for renovation; Athletic Park / Wisconsin Woodchucks
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