The sun is out, new seats are going in – it's time for baseball!

Wausau, WIS – The first seat of 288 brand new stadium seats has been installed in the renovated grandstand of Athletic Park. The Woodchucks celebrated another milestone in the construction of their $3 million renovation project down at Athletic Park when Wausau mayor, Jim Tipple, among others, helped put together and secure the first stadium seat in the stadium.

Thanks to the hard work of the construction crew and the arrival of nicer spring weather, the renovation project is still set to be complete in time for the Woodchucks home opener on Friday, May 30th. "The construction has gone largely as planned, so far with The Samuel's Group," said Woodchucks General Manager, Ryan Treu. "I think fans are going to be very excited the first time they walk into the newly renovated Athletic Park. We have added some great ammenities to the park to make sure fans will have an amazing experience down at the ballpark."

With one seat in and ready to go, that just leaves another 287 to go. The seats all come from Irwin Seating, a company that has recently completed projects for the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees. The new 20" chairs will provide fans with a more comfortable seating option than the bleacher seats of the old grandstand. They come complete with a high chairback and cup holders to boot. And while brand new seating is going in, they are just a small part of the new ammenities fans will see at Athletic Park this summer.

The Wisconsin Woodchucks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwood’s League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwood’s 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 Northwood’s 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 Northwood’s League YouTube channel.  For more information, visit woodchcuks.com.