Athletic Park. Image courtesy: Wausau Woodchucks
CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – It’s a beautiful summer night in Central Wisconsin. “No, I’m not going to the Woodchucks baseball game… parking is too difficult,” said no one, ever.
If you attend a Woodchucks game, you know that you park in the neighborhood or drive to the other side of the railroad tracks and park in the grass field. The walk is a block or two.
But now the city is looking to create up to 150 paved parking spots around the ballpark. It involves buying some land near the Wausau Chemical site or near the Nelson Miller building. The paved spaces, beyond the outfield wall, would be further away than were most baseball-goers park now. And there may be added soil remediation costs.
This is all because of a deal the city made with the Woodchucks baseball team. And, while the city needs to live up to its promises, this was a bad deal from the start. The Woodchucks have wanted more and better parking near their ballpark, and the city promised that the issue would be addressed years ago. The Woodchucks have extended their lease at Athletic Park, and they’ve put large amounts of their own money into ballpark improvements. And those upgrades are wonderful. The city has put up new parking signage in the neighborhood, but a formal ballpark parking lot hasn’t materialized yet.
The problem is this is an expensive promise for Wausau taxpayers. Buying and cleaning up contaminated land costs a lot of money, and the clean isn’t for a school or new housing – it’s for a place to park cars. And all of this comes at a time when landowners in Wausau are about to receive much-higher property tax bills. The Woodchucks are a community-minded organization. The right approach for the city is to ask the ballclub, politely, we’re aware that we made a promise to you. But it’s expensive and difficult to keep. Is there anything else we can do for you?
Chris Conley
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