APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – It’s been an unusual year for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, but President Rob Zerjav says things are looking great for next season.
After not having a season in 2020, the team received an invitation last December to move up to High A in the Brewers farm system.
It means the Rattlers will remain a Brewers affiliate for the next ten years.
Zerjav tells FOX 11 the season began in unfamiliar territory, but slowly, a sense of normalcy returned.
“To start the season, Major League Baseball mandated that we had masks at the start. We were at 25 percent capacity, when that was lifted in June, really it kind of all went away.”
But those weren’t the only issues.
After having a total of 225,897 fans in 2019, the COVID-plagued 2021 season saw attendance drop to around 150,000.
“By June we were at full capacity and we’ve been able to do that the whole season. And the crowds we’ve received have just been fantastic,” says Zerjav.
Fans were happy that a season was played this year.
AJ Schoenfuss, has season tickets and tells FOX he sure doesn’t take the team for granted.
“We were kind of upset about last season actually cause we were planning on coming to a few games. But they didn’t have the season so it made coming to the games this year all that much better.”
Come 2023, Zerjav says fans and players will see improvements through a stadium renovation.
“It’s something that’s always been on our list. We want a 360-degree concourse where fans can walk around the entire ballpark, so that’s going to be a part of it. We need to have bigger clubhouses, and just bigger conditioning spaces for them as well, so that will be part of it.”
T-Rats close out the 2021 season on the road this week in Midland, Michigan.
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