Loggers Recognized with Regional Progress Award at Annual Chamber Banquet
Collaboration and Ballpark Enhancements Garner Award
LA CROSSE, WIS. – The La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce held its annual recognition dinner at the La Crosse Center on Monday, March 3 and the La Crosse Loggers were honored with The Regional Progress Award.
The Regional Progress Award is awarded annually to the group or individual who “improves the economy and quality of life throughout the La Crosse area, through cooperative and collaborative efforts, that enhance unity, trust, respect and mutually beneficial progress for all citizens of the Seven Rivers Region.”
The Loggers will debut the latest enhancements to Copeland Park’s baseball facility this spring, an investment of more than $650,000 that brings artificial turf and a video board to the facility that’s home to the Loggers and is also used by the UW-La Crosse baseball team, Western Technical College, La Crosse Central High School, the La Crosse American Legion and numerous other local baseball groups.
Last July, the Loggers and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, announced the beginning of a new partnership that enabled the latest round of improvements to Copeland Park. It started with a generous donation from Dave and Barb Skogen, the founders of Festival Foods, who donated $320,000 to make the new AstroTurf infield a reality at Copeland Park and that infield was installed in the fall of 2013.
Later this month, a new state-of-the-art video board from Daktronics will be installed at Copeland Park and the final stages will be completed in finishing off two brand new dugouts.
As a part of the Loggers and UW-L partnership, the Eagles baseball program will also begin playing all of their home contests at Copeland Park beginning this spring. In return, the Loggers will be making an annual donation of $40,000 to the UW-L baseball program to keep it financially sustainable on a yearly basis. The Eagles baseball program had seen its funding cut from the University in 2009, but will now be financially stable under the new agreement.
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The La Crosse Loggers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (DET) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live and free of charge via the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.lacrosseloggers.com.