Badger State Games gets new owner

The Badger State Games is back in business with the Wausau-based Central Wisconsin Convention and Visitors Bureau as its new owner, according to the Wausau Daily Herald. The CVB paid $15,000 for the Badger State Games brand.

For 25 years the games featured individual and team sporting events in different venues around the state in both winter and summer. This past August, the Madison-based Wisconsin Sports Development Corp. announced it would no longer put on the event.

A month later, CVB Executive Director Darien Schaefer began a campaign to purchase the Badger State Games.

According to the newspaper, the winter games - including cross-country skiing and snowshoe races - will continue to be held in Wausau, starting with the February 2012 Winter Games. Summer events will remain in the Fox Cities, such as the cycling races, for at least three years under the terms of the agreement signed by both organizations, the newspaper reported.

Reportedly, local organizations will independently plan and put on the sport-specific events with the CVB providing "back office" support, including athlete registration and marketing.