Wisconsin Brewing Company Park – page 2

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The Design

As we enter the gates of Wisconsin Brewing Company Park and take a look at its design, it’s time to bring up a sort of puzzling — perhaps even borderline troubling — issue.

Before I visit a new ballpark, I always have a chat with the architect who designed it. You’ll always see plenty of quotes from them in these reviews. Those folks usually aren’t hard to find — and typically they’ve chased after me before I ever think of contacting them.

So knowing I was going to WBC Park soon, I started trying to look up the architect. Well, none of the typical places I look online listed a designer. Hmmm. So I asked other ballpark architects I know. I mean, surely they would know which of their brethren was the designer.

Nope. No one seemed to have a clue.

So when I arrived in Oconomowoc, I looked for a dedication plaque near the main entry that would list things like those on the city council, the general contractor and, very importantly, the architect.

I found no such plaque. So a few minutes later, I sat down with managing owners Tom and Lisa Kelenic. Right off the bat, I asked for the name of the architect. It seemed like a straightforward question. But they didn’t tell me.

I am not implying they were being evasive. There was definitely an answer to my question, but the answer didn’t include a name. Or even the name of a firm. I learned that it’s a local engineer who has assisted the Kelenics with other facilities in Wisconsin. They told me that they brought him pictures from other parks showing features that they wanted, and said “put this on paper,” according to Tom. So from the beginning, it wasn’t like there was an architect generating his/her own ideas and then providing renderings bringing those ideas to life.

Then there were the myriad of changes that were made after construction started. “We redesigned this building really based on what we could get in materials” due to the supply-chain catastrophes that were occurring back in 2021 with steel and all other construction materials. “You had to be flexible and you had to be ready to make a change really quick,” Tom explained.

Add to this that designing sports facilities isn’t what this engineer typically does *and* that he’s “a very private person” says Tom, he doesn’t want his name attached to the ballpark. “This goes back to our relationship with him over the years,” adds Lisa. “We work really well with him, and I think that’s why it worked (here).”

It’s not correct to think that this engineer/architect is ashamed of how the park turned out. After all, it turned out how the Kelenics wanted, given the crazy constraints in obtaining building materials. It’s just highly unusual not to know the name of the architect of record. So that’s why it says “undisclosed” in our Ballpark Stats box on the first page of this review.

It’s certainly a first for me.

And I think it partially explains why this feels like a ballpark that wasn’t designed like almost all of the other minor league facilities, done by Populous, Pendulum and the like.

So how is it different? First and foremost, look directly behind home plate, where usually you have expensive seating sections of field-box seats. Here, there are none to be found. Instead, there is lounge with tables where waitstaff take your orders and bring your food and drink (photo above).

In fact, when Lisa was asked to name her favorite feature in the facility, she said, “The table seating behind home plate. This was something that we felt was definitely different and unique.” True, it’s not how almost all other parks are designed. Rome, Georgia’s park has this, but not many others at all.

This area is known as the Woof Wharf, and has tables on the field level and an elevated level (see above), both behind home plate. The view from these areas is wonderful, especially the upper level.

She was also quick to point out that down the first-base line are five “Quad Docks” (see photo). These are private sections “that are actually like sitting in a pontoon. We bring to life the whole Lake Country feel here.

“The other group areas try to bring that vibe,” she adds.

One of those group areas is the aforementioned Beach, where even the ground you walk on is a sandy surface, unlike the concrete concourses elsewhere in the ballpark. While I’m not a big fan of group areas beyond outfield walls (because you feel fairly isolated from the game going on 300 feet away), here a group can enjoy wait service while sitting around picnic tables. There are even signs scattered around showing the names of the various lakes in the area. A very clever idea — plus this is a likely spot to snag a home run ball, since it’s just beyond the right-field fence.

Another Vibe-ish feature is a series of canopies for smaller groups — think birthday and graduation parties — on the upper level behind third base (photo below). These are becoming a very popular feature at newer minor-league parks.

The main seating “bowl” isn’t really, well, a bowl. The vast majority of the fixed seats in WBC Park are in fairly straight lines parallel to the foul lines, emanating from the lounge area behind home plate. The concourse where you’ll find restrooms and concessions are underneath/behind these seating sections, in a long straight line — so you can’t see the field at all. The concourse on the third-base side, you’ll recall, has a lot of natural light, because all that’s between you and the outside world is an iron fence.

On the first-base side, though, the only natural light is at the ends. In other words, it’s like a tunnel, because as you walk under the stands here, the first-floor of the building is between you and the outside. And the wall is solid because on the other side is the home clubhouse, and you don’t want windows looking into that.

The area just inside the entry gate behind home plate is one of my favorite spots in the park. Here is long bar, and all that’s separating it from the tables in the Woof Wharf is a semi-translucent mural that shows an old-time map of the major lakes in Lake Country (photo above). It is very cool that you can see the shadows of the patrons in the lounge as silhouettes on this mural.

Now let’s talk about the all-important building, that has a large sign that says ProHealth Pavilion facing the street. As I understand it, part of the pitch to the town of Oconomowoc was that it wouldn’t just be a ballpark built on this parcel of land. It would also include a commercial building with other services in it. While most of the square footage is used for baseball purposes, there is a sports-medicine practice on the first floor called Sports AdvantEdge.

Directly above it is an operational brewery. Showing off the space is Paul Verdu (on the left with Lisa and Tom), who is the president of the naming sponsor for the ballpark. The huge vats and barrels here are beautifully lit, and can be seen through windows that separate that space from the beautiful Baird Wealth Management Club.

This club is both huge and exceptional. Perhaps its best feature is one of the most beautiful, custom-built bars I’ve ever seen in a ballpark. The design and carpentry for the back of the bar was carried out by Dean Loppnow (below) and his two sons of D&D Millwork. Loppnow is also one of the three dozen or so local investors in the team and ballpark.

The countertop of this spectacular bar is made up of hundreds of baseball cards provided by Sonny Bando, one of the majority owners. (Lisa is showing off the baseball cards below).

Bando is a fascinating person who has been friends with Tom since the two were in college together. If Sonny’s last name sounds familiar, it’s because his father is long-time Major Leaguer and MLB GM Sal Bando. And while we’re talking about him, Tom points out that he and his friend Sonny “were our own general contractors. We didn’t hire a company to build this, because we have a history in construction. And we actually got this thing open inside of 12 months,” which is miraculous considering the supply-chain bottlenecks.

And the cost of construction? That’s another well-kept secret. Because it was entirely private money (from the majority owners and investors) that built WBC Park, there is no reason for the owners to make the amount public. “I think the best way of putting it is that we spent a significant amount of money to make it user-friendly for everybody,” says Tom.

Adds Lisa, “We had to invest more to get it done in that twelve month period. And this was during a time when it was hard to get any kind of construction supplies. But it was more important to get it done (on time) and keep our commitment.”

Getting back to the beautiful Club (shown above), it has garage doors that allow it to open to a landing at the top of the seats behind first base. This provides one of the best vantage points of the ballpark as well as sunsets beyond the other side of the stadium.

Down the hall from the Club are two large, beautiful suites. Also on this upper level is the control booth for the scoreboard and sound. I bet they wish they’d allocated more space for this, because this room is really crowded with the personnel handling these duties.

Ordinarily, broadcasts booths and press areas would be close to this operational hub, but I absolutely couldn’t find any such things. After I asked someone, I was shown a spiral staircase that extends through the ceiling of the control room. In this upper-upper level are where the radio broadcasters do their play by play — although it wasn’t nearly an adequate setup, as there were no “booths” (see photo). Temporary folding tables were positioned next to windows looking down on the field, but from a sitting position, the broadcasters can’t see the scoreboard or right-field corner. Not a good set-up at all.

And if you were looking for countertops for the “working (writing) press,” well, you’d be out of luck, as there are none — and that’s usually where I work at a ballgame. This would be a big drawback if something like a college baseball tournament or the like were to be held here. I will admit, though, that this “tower” for the broadcasters is very attractive on the outside, and has a pointed roofline that mirrors what is directly above the main entryway to the park, as well as over the double doors that lead into the first floor of the building.

And that first floor is both very impressive and extremely busy. With a beautiful lobby in the center of it all, you’ll find the ticket office (fans actually access the box office through windows in the front of the building), team offices, the home clubhouse, batting cages, a workout room, cooking facilities, restrooms and the merchandise store.

The store is conveniently located between the building’s lobby and the ballpark’s concourse not far from the entry gate. More on the merchandise itself is in the next section of the review, but suffice it to say that the DockHounds carry far more wonderful merch than will fit in this small store. That’s why there are racks of shirts spilling out onto the concourse (see above) — which come to think of it isn’t a bad idea because of the attention it attracts and the way it more or less leads you into the store itself.

Tom and Lisa didn’t have to go far to obtain input on how to design the clubhouse and workout facilities, considering their son is a Major Leaguer. “We’d throw the drawings at him to get his opinion,” said Tom. “He’d say all of the time, ‘Take care of the players.’ It’s him living the life that he lives and going to different ballparks.” And making the players happy is especially critical in the independent leagues because you have to scout and sign your own players. They aren’t assigned to you like in the affiliated Minors.

The playing surface is artificial, made by Shaw — which manufactures fields for a number of MLB teams. If you’re wondering why natural grass wasn’t used, consider that the field is used for far, far more than just baseball games. “When this park was being pitched to the city for approval, this was one thing that we stressed — we wanted this facility to be more than for just a professional baseball team,” explains Bryan Giese, the team’s Marketing and Communications Manager.

“Between the Dairyland League (summer collegiate league), Bryant & Stratton College and all the youth sports, the field is essentially used all the time from March through November,” he continued. “For the month of June, I believe there are only two days that the field isn’t in use. Even today, we are setting up to have a Taco and Tequila Festival on the field and in the club level.”

This is why an artificial surface is mandatory.

And we need to address the outfield dimension of the ballpark. You might have noticed in our Ballpark Stats box that the distance from home plate to dead center field is only 372 feet. If you’re thinking that this creates a monstrosity of an outfield reminiscent of Bakersfield’s Sam Lynn Ballpark, relax. It doesn’t at all. The outfield wall juts out to a respectable 390 feet in right center (see the picture below, courtesy of the DockHounds). That’s so that playing fields for other sports can fit.

“For full-size football and lacrosse games, we’ve had to remove the mound and run the fields essentially from the third base line to the right field wall,” says Giese. “And because we love having kids of all ages out to the park, we’ve also hosted those sports at younger ages and have been able to have four or five games happening all at one time. And for those cases, we essentially work with the club’s event organizer to work out a grid of some kind that optimizes the number of games going on at one time.” (see the photo above of multiple lacrosse games going on at once, courtesy of the DockHounds).

Talk about a well-planned, multi-function sports facility — even with no architect wanting to take credit for it!

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The Essentials

So you’re considering a trip to Wisconsin’s gorgeous Lake Country, and you want to know what it’s like to attend a DockHounds game. Are there good things to eat? Is it fun? Is it affordable?

Food and fun? Absolutely. Affordable? Pretty much.

One thing I really dislike is when teams make it very difficult to understand how much their tickets cost. Which day of the week? Who is the opponent? Are you trying to buy tickets for today’s game? How many tickets have already been sold?

I am thrilled to report that none of that matters in Oconomowoc. They’ve never heard of “dynamic ticket pricing” there, and I hope they never do.

First, parking costs $5, but there’s a good story behind it. Local organizations provide members to help with the parking, and the DockHounds turn half of all of the parking revenue over to the group after the game. I’ve never heard of that applying with parking, and I like it.

Single game tickets for the main grandstand are $15, and general admission for the berm in left field (see photo) are $10. On Wednesdays when dogs are allowed, your pooch will cost you $5.

A ticket for the Baird Wealth Management Club is $55, and includes a very nice buffet and up to two drinks. I think this is very reasonable.

And I can’t stress enough that the DockHounds don’t don’t add on a surcharge if you buy your ticket on the day of the game.

To rent out one of the private suites, it costs $1,100 for 20 attendees.

The Quad Dock “pontoons” are for groups with at least 16 people, and cost from $20 to $30 per person, depending on the food package you choose. The Johnson Financial Cabanas cost $25-$27 per head for groups of at least ten. Groups of 40 to 60 can book the Stamas Dentistry Beach area for $30 per person.

The Woof Wharf tables behind home plate are sold out to season-ticket buyers. Sorry.

One of Lisa’s day-to-day responsibilities for the DockHounds is merchandise — and does the team ever have a lot of attractive attire and souvenirs! It’s too bad the “fan store” — Lisa insists on calling it this rather than “team store” because it exists for the fans — isn’t larger.

While they don’t carry lapel pins (my favorite souvenir item), they do have anything you could want in the way of apparel. A specially designed beach shirt (which the team refers to as a “lake shirt” — of course) sells for $58.99 and is tied to other promotions the team is running. Men’s and women’s golf shirts are $49.99, and adult sweatshirts are $44.99. I also spotted a really cool adult hoody that runs $45.99, and a special hoody for women was $59.99. A variety of adult tee shirts were $23.99 and $25.99.

In the kids’ area, tee shirts were $20 and $22, and youth caps were $21.99.

Speaking of caps, there is a massive assortment of ones for adults, with both adjustable and fitted caps ranging from $27.99 to $32.99.

My favorite apparel items, though, are performance shirts made by Iron Joc — and I bought one. The material is lightweight and silky soft. Gray and black versions with long sleeves and hoods were $74.99 and $76.99. Light blue non-hoody shirts with short sleeves were $39.99 to $44.99.

Before we talk about concessions, we need to feature the atmosphere you’ll experience at WBC Park.

First, you are most definitely in good hands with Lauren Huettner overseeing the entertainment and games. While getting a degree at University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, she interned with a summer wood-bat collegiate team, then Milwaukee’s minor league hockey team and finally with the Bucks, as they were coming off of their NBA championship in 2021. “I loved that internship. That was really the turning point for me, learning the ins and outs of entertainment,” she explains. “It was really beneficial for me to see how a production script is made and how all the moving parts with hosts and mascots work.”

She mapped out the in-game events, and fans are enjoying it. “We want this to be the number one spot in Oconomowoc and Lake Country that people come to for entertainment. I love getting the crowd involved.”  With a game host named Skipper Dave and a mascot named Louie (shown being photographed in the shot at the top of this section) — whose uniform number is 5 because there are five O’s in Oconomowoc — there is never a dull moment at a DockHounds game.

Lisa says that their son Jarred also contributed to this. “He would tell us, ‘Hey, when I was at this park, here’s something they did and the fans loved it.’ That’s been helpful because it keeps us on track.”

When you’re hungry at a DockHounds game, you’ll find concessions from Butter Than The Rest Catering, the new food-service managers this year. The big addition for 2023 is Louie’s SmokeHouse. At this stand behind first base, you’ll find brisket (sandwich is $10) and pulled pork (sandwich is $9) smoked daily right there at the ballpark.

A few feet away down the “tunnel” behind the first-base stands is the Snack Shack stand (photo below), where tater tots are the order of the day. You can get them plain ($6), loaded with cheese, bacon and chives ($9), street corn featuring locally grown, grilled kernels ($10), steak with chimichurri sauce ($10) and pulled pork ($10).

I tried the smoked brisket sandwich (good) and the street corn tots (fantastic).

There’s another Snack Shack on the far end of the third-base stands. It features hot dogs ($5), brats ($6), street tacos (two for $5), and nachos (plan $5 and with pulled pork $7).

Most stands also feature half-pint cups of ice cream made by Mullen’s Dairy Bar, a Wisconsin operation owned by three brothers from Oconomowoc. When I was there, the flavors were vanilla, blue moon and dirty cake, and cost $5.

Since I prefer Pepsi to Coke, I’m happy that Pepsi products are served here. 20-ounce bottles are $4.

If you’re in search of more “adult” beverages, you’ll find three distinct areas spread out in the ballpark. Behind home plate is the aforementioned bar that serves Deep Eddy Vodka served in cans with either soda or tea for $8, a brandy old-fashioned in a can for $8, and four concoctions costing $10 for 16 ounces: DockHounds Punch made with raspberry vodka and lemonade; The Beast Margarita; Central Standard Cherry Lemonade and Central Standard Cherry Mule.

Way down the third-base line is a freestanding shed that sells Wollersheim Wines (another Wisconsin company) in 187 ml bottles for $8. Over on the first-base side is another shed that sells the same Deep Eddy canned drinks as behind home plate.

A popular beer at WBC Park is Walk Off American Lager, brewed (of course) by Wisconsin Brewing Company. It’s sold in cans for $7.

Overall, I would say the concessions are a higher quality than I typically see at indy league parks, plus I didn’t find any of the prices unreasonable.

Younger fans will enjoy the right-field corner, where there are inflatable attractions and a basketball court surrounded by netting to keep errant foul balls out.

The scoreboard and sound system are certainly adequate for this level of baseball.

For a franchise in only its second year of existence, the experience for fans appears to be humming right along.

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Summary

With very few exceptions, ballparks aren’t built far away from metro areas. Team operators need population close by so they can sell tickets.

From the beginning, the Kelenics were looking at Waukesha County and its population of 407,000 to be the home of their baseball venture. The fact that it ended up in Oconomowoc is fortunate indeed — for both the DockHounds and the town.

The town benefits from all of this because it brings positive attention to a place that most people don’t know how to pronounce, plus “we are all about community,” says Huettner. The team brings players, the mascot or Skipper Dave to schools, restaurants, ribbon cuttings, shopping centers — you name it.  In addition, the DockHounds schedule events like concerts, youth tournaments and shows, at WBC Park.

The reaction of local residents?  “They love it,” says Lisa. “When we were first starting, we talked about how if we had the right community and we did it right, they would embrace it. It really became even more clear to us just how much they wanted it (here).”

So far it’s a success. It’s a testament to the staff Tom and Lisa have hired, because “it’s taken all of them,” says Tom. Lisa specifically pointed to General Manager Trish Raspberry, “who has been a huge asset to us with her experience launching new teams, whether it’s baseball, basketball or soccer. I think her guidance was crucial for us.

“It takes all of us because we all had so many different aspects and experience levels. It helped us assemble the right team,” she concludes.

And Tom gives his wife credit for assembling the staff, because she “has a lot of experience in the coaching side of different companies.”

Fans have certainly responded well, and attendance figures are encouraging.

So with appreciation for the lakes created by the ice age, the Wisconsin Glacial Episode has given way to Wisconsin Brewing Company Park. It appears to capture exactly the right vibe.

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