Badger State Games will end after 25 years
Started in 1985 to re-create the Olympic experience for citizen athletes, the Badger State Games has reached its own finish line.
The nonprofit Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation announced Tuesday it would drop the games it organized for both winter and summer sports.
"It is time to yield to market forces beyond our control and explore new ways to serve the sports marketplace for the benefit of the state of Wisconsin," the WSDC interim president and CEO Dan Doyle said.
Participation in the games has dropped in recent years, revenue also declined and the WSDC has reduced its staff and budget in response to budget issues.
Competition from other races and tournaments - particularly in youth hockey and soccer - have hurt the Badger State Games.
In a telephone conference Tuesday afternoon, Doyle reported that roughly 20,000 people participated in the games annually in the late 1990s. That number dwindled to roughly 5,000 in the 2011 versions of the winter and summer games.
Financially, the corporation that organizes and promotes the games lost nearly $50,000 in the fiscal year ending July 31, 2010, the second year in which expenses exceeded revenues. According to its federal tax filing, the corporation had debts that exceeded its assets by nearly $8,000.
The Madison-based corporation estimated that 350,000 athletes have participated in the games over the 25 years, in everything from curling, archery, Nordic skiing and ski-jumping to tennis and soccer.
(My own in the Badger State Games experiences include a sweltering hot mountain bike race at the Blackhawk Ski Area, and a frosty cross-country ski race in subzero temps at the Nine Mile Recreation area in Wausau. I have the medals as reminders. Please share your memories via email to theld@journalsentinel.com, or in the comments section.)
"We are very proud of our accomplishments over the years," Doyle said. "The games have supported dozens of sports and have fostered an environment in Wisconsin where athletes now have a wealth of opportunities to participate and compete."
Questions about the sustainability of the Badger State Games started several years ago. The Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention and Visitors Bureau stopped providing roughly $100,000 in support to host the winter games in Wausau.
Contributions from sponsors also dropped off.
According to the announcement, the event hosts in Wausau and the Fox Cities will consider reviving the games in some form.
Doyle said decisions on the future mission of the WSDC would be decided in the next three to six months. One option at the top of the list includes creation of a sports authority to organize major sporting events, including NCAA Div. III championships, he said.
The financial position of the non-profit requires a quick decision.
The WSDC also said it would try to sell or transfer ownership of the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame.
The physical recognition of sports luminaries is the Walk of Fame, which features plaques of Wisconsin athletes, located along N. 4th St. adjacent to the U.S. Cellular Arena.
Franklyn Gimbel, chair of the Wisconsin Center District, which owns and operates the U.S. Cellular Arena, said the Walk of Fame isn’t going anywhere.
“We think we should have the Hall of Fame,” Gimbel said Tuesday., “We’ve invested $750,000 to create the Walk of Fame. And I hope there would be some method of reviving the whole notion of the Hall of Fame. It has value.”
Gimbel said the district was not looking to spend money on the Walk of Fame and the annual dinner. “We would be looking for some managing group to take it over and run it,” he said.
Thanks to Don Walker for contributing to this story.
169 Comments for "Badger State Games will end after 25 years"
jarcherschibline Aug 02, 2011 12:35 PM
That was EXACTLY what was going through my mind as I read the article. You got to it before I could!
If the BSG had kept up with the times and added a video game catagory, they'd have to deny people from participating because there would be too many 'players' signed up.
Just another sign of the times I guess.
clowns2leftjokers2rt Aug 02, 2011 12:53 PM
from here on in. The reality is, if it doesn't affect an individual directly,
that person does not care. By the time something rolls around that does
affect you or something you like to do, then we get mad. Problem is, we
never get mad together. And politicians know it.
libertyfirst Aug 02, 2011 12:54 PM
dozer Aug 02, 2011 12:58 PM
again about your comment coupled with Chequamegon's whose
comment you endorsed. If this is about lack participation related to lack
of jobs, the Doyle administration was at work over the last 8 years of
the games. If participation dropped last year 700 hundred, less than 1/2
of what it once was, how was that at all Walker's fault? Walker wasn't
even in office. The job losses of which you speak all happened under
Doyle and a Democratic congress.
Sad to see some people so blinded by ideological partisanship.
rock solid Aug 02, 2011 1:09 PM
come down on? Just sayin'. Let the name calling begin. I know, I know.
Let me help you. I'm an idiot!
libertyfirst Aug 02, 2011 1:20 PM
admiralsfn50 Aug 02, 2011 1:24 PM
seinatra Aug 02, 2011 1:27 PM
worse than a whiny looser in sports. You two just come across way too
whiny. The logical jump that Walker caused this to close and that it is the
governments job to ensure you have a personal budget for entering sports
events is ridiculous. We all have to make choices in how we spend our
money."
Jimmy, you're the one with the personal agenda. I mentioned nothing about Walker. The meaning of my post must have escaped your indignation. The simple fact is, people without jobs have little or no discretionary spending and luxuries like participation in the BSG games will disappear. I don't like Walker either, but screw your interpretation, it's way off the mark.
Chequamegon Aug 02, 2011 1:46 PM
should be thrown out. I live in a complex where there a few nice people
who participate in Special Olympics and have done very well. It gets
people out of their homes, away from the bars and doing something to
exercise their minds and hearts. Sports is not only good for those with
disabilities. You see it every day with Pro Sports. I know sometimes I
get frustrated because their is a problem surrounding the sportmanship
quality. The Badger State Games needs to continue at all costs. Heck if
I could find somebody to throw footballs around or kick a soccer ball or
lift weights or even water aerobics I'd be happy. People need activity.
It makes for first, a healthier person, their relationships, a family starting
out, intertwined families and gets us away from the he said she said
environment. It's sad to see the Badger State Games end if they do.
Because I believe that in all of us there is a Mary Lou Retton, Nadia,
Michael Phelps, Aaron Rodgers, Maria Sharapova, Tom Brady, Brett Favre
and so many more I could mention. Please consider this carefully for
future generations. Athletics is important. All summer long we have
witnessed the Women's World Cup, World Aquatic Championships, Junior
Soccer Cups for the americas in Mexico. The Pan Am Games are in
Mexico in October. People you need to not put down these athletes
because for them it is part of their life. The only thing that gets them
out to try to excel at one thing they are good at. Thanks IOC. This is
non-profit. Think on this.
Joe Heat Aug 02, 2011 3:26 PM
cmcmcm Aug 02, 2011 4:44 PM
LodiRB1 Aug 02, 2011 4:55 PM