On April 17, 2013 a press conference was held in Wausau, WI to announce phased renovations to Historic Athletic Park. The ballpark was originally constructed around 1912 and has been updated with minor renovations over the last twenty years. The current planned improvements will be the first major renovation in the parks long history and will contribute to a long future for the Wisconsin Woodchucks in the Wausau market. Pendulum Studio was retained by the team owner, Mark Macdonald for their pro forma based design approach and expertise in seating inventory, fan comfort, and revenue generating ideas.
Phase one of the project will focus on a total reconstruction of the seating bowl behind home plate, a new street facing facade with curb appeal, and the preservation of the existing historic granite perimeter wall. In contrast to the current cramped bench seating that consists of line-of-sight obstructed views to the playing field surface, the new design will provide more spacious rows equipped with fixed armchair seats. Dugout club group seating will also be provided at field level.
In the planned future phases additional concessions points of sale, toilet accommodations and roof top decks will target increased mid-priced group and corporate amenities.
Although the project is small in scale, patrons that visit the newly renovated ballpark can expect large-scale improvements in fan comfort. Pendulum’s initial design process involved attending games and talking with fans about their current game-day experience. We tossed around design ideas amongst patrons of all ages, then applied the feedback to a series of sketches and 3D models that were simultaneously input into a pro forma to balance investment cost in consideration of long and short-term revenue potential. Time will tell how successful our design process will prove to be in this particular application, however we have great expectations for the future.
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