Northwoods League baseball is back in Wisconsin and Illinois
LA CROSSE, Wis. (BVM) — From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Northwoods League (NWL) was always looking for a way to have its season.
“The league was very upfront in saying they wanted to get Northwoods League games in whatever it would like,” said Ben Kapanke, general manager of the La Crosse Loggers. “It was always an open conversation as far as we’re not giving up on the season, we want to do everything we can to try and get it in. It just might look a little different.”
It does look different. Each state and each city took a different approach to addressing COVID-19. With 22 teams in seven states, and one team in Canada, the logistics of doing a league-wide season would be impossible.
Therefore, it became the responsibility of each team to work with its local municipality to create a plan for how to bring NWL baseball back.
In May, the Bismarck Larks announced a three-team season all based in Bismarck. On June 11, the Loggers, Fond du Lac Dock Spiders, Green Bay Booyah, Rockford Rivets, Wisconsin Rapids Rafters, and Wisconsin Woodchucks announced they would be starting their own season as a Wisconsin/Illinois pod beginning play July 1. There is also an Iowa/Minnesota pod that will start soon as well.
“It’s really tailored to each municipality,” Kapanke said. “The response has been beyond supportive for what we are trying to do and what we’re trying to accomplish. It really is humbling when you see the number of sponsors that are still with us, the season ticket holders that are continuing, and the host parents that are still here.”
Since the announcement, fans, sponsors and players alike have been excited for the season to get underway. That excitement has been greatly appreciated and has been motivation to make sure that everyone can enjoy Loggers baseball safely.
The Loggers have set up multiple sanitation centers throughout Copeland Park. They will also regularly take the temperature of all staff and players and adjust seating so that it gives fans flexibility and options.
“By in large, putting a lot of it on the customers, if they’re comfortable coming to a game, we want to have them,” Kapanke said. “If they’re not comfortable based on our protocols we understand that and we’re going to be here for them when they are comfortable.
“We have to be able to carry out games, carry out the experience of coming to a ballpark as much as we possibly can without putting people at risk in a significant way.”
The Loggers are excited and confident in their ability to produce the same level of entertainment that they always have.
“We feel like we can provide some sort of normalcy and I know the new normal is different,” Kapanke said. “It’s not going to be like how it was, but we still feel like we can be a place for people to go to take in sports, to see live baseball again. We feel like we can do things safely in the ballpark to make people feel comfortable.”
That normalcy also applies to their players, who haven’t played competitive baseball since the pandemic started.
“From day one we have had so many requests from players,” Kapanke said. “They are hungry.”
The Loggers are excited to help these players grow and get the playing time they missed out on in the spring.
“We’ve had a lot of success with former Loggers moving on to professional careers,” Kapanke said. “I think it’s going to be a great summer in La Crosse for our players, for our fans, for sponsors and hope that we can be that outlet for a lack of sports.”
Kapanke and the Loggers are excited to give the people of La Crosse a mini vacation and a return to something that is familiar to them — La Crosse Loggers baseball in the summer.
“It’s a chance to get back to the life that we knew before this whole thing started,” Kapanke said. “I know it’s not going to be the same but to be able to go back to the ballpark, go to work, open the gates, and welcome fans back in. To provide some sort of just getaway, whether it’s a three hour getaway.”
