Wisconsin Woodchucks
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Mark MacDonald can finally breathe again.
The owner of the Wisconsin Woodchucks just guided his team and staff through a 47-game season with limited fan attendance and now known outbreaks of COVID-19. He credits his staff and local authorities with helping make that possible.
Those discussions started after the state Supreme Court lifted Governor Tony Evers’ Safer at Home order, and centered on making sure the games could be held with fans in a safe manner. “That included the City of Wausau, Marathon County Parks Department, Marathon County Health Department, the Police Department, and we brought in Aspirus as sort of a health partner to help us through the process [as well.]”
He adds that the team was not out to make money this year. Instead, they were looking to take as many baby steps as possible to return a popular form of live entertainment to the region in a safe manner. “That was important for us, that we don’t try to overextend ourselves and be cautious. We were the first ones to open up, we were sort of pioneers and we needed to be careful.
“You will probably see some of the things that happened at Athletic Park play its way out in other events around town this fall and winter,” he added.
In an open letter to Woodchucks and Northwoods League supporters, MacDonald says he lost 15 pounds during the season and countless hours of sleep. But he says the attention to detail did pay off in the end as everyone went home safe and healthy; proving that it is possible to bring some sense of normalcy to the region if you do it right. “You never can relax, and you can never take it for granted. It wasn’t until the season was over that we figured ‘yeah, we made it.’
“It’s extremely stressful, and if it isn’t then you are probably not taking the right approach. You need to be careful, and whenever you can call on the experts. Always err on the side of caution,” he added.
The Woodchucks were one of six teams that played in the Northwoods League’s Wisconsin-Illinois pod. The league also ran smaller pods in North Dakota and Michigan, while about half of the league’s Minnesota clubs teamed up with Waterloo to form the MN-IA pod. Additionally, the Kenosha Kingfish played a series against a temporary team called the K-
Town Bobbers.
MacDonald says with the Wisconsin-Illinois pod wrapped up he has started looking ahead to 2021 with cautious optimism. “Like a lot of things in life right now it’s hard to make plans. The information, the story is changing on a daily basis. We are impacted by what happens with the colleges so we will have to watch how those seasons play out.”
If those seasons are delayed past the usual mid-June end date that could mean the NWL and other summer collegiate leagues would have to alter their seasons again or cancel completely.
The Northwoods League was one of just a handful of leagues that played in 2020, and one of the only baseball leagues in America that did so with paying customers in attendance. The other being the professional American Association, which is nearing the end of a 60-game season that’s being played out in Sioux Falls, SD; Fargo, ND; St. Paul; and suburban Milwaukee.
No matter what the 2021 season looks like, MacDonald says fans can expect to see some of the precautions that were put in place for this season to be continued. “The extra care that we took in the concessions stands is not something that’s going away. I don’t think you will see a situation anymore where you walk up to a stand and they are not behind Plexiglass and wearing a mask. that’s here to stay for a while.”
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