Capital Credit Union Slide opens at Fox Cities Stadium, home of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

GRAND CHUTE – After a nearly two-month delay, the wait is over.

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and Capital Credit Union unveiled Tuesday the long-awaited Capital Credit Union Slide in a ceremony at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.

Considered the centerpiece of the Timber Rattlers’ latest ballpark renovations, the slide was open to the public for the first time after it was originally expected to be completed for the team’s home opener April 11.

“It’s an exciting day for us,” said Rob Zerjav, president, CEO and managing partner of the Timber Rattlers. “We want to thank Capital Credit Union for this partnership and really their trust on this vision, which has really become the crown jewel of this renovation that we’ve just undertaken. We’d like to thank all the subcontractors for all their hard work in putting this together. It’s been a rush. We wanted to get this ready for Opening Day, it wasn’t possible. We kept pushing and pushing and pushing to get ready for this date and here we are on a beautiful day in May.”

The 30-foot slide is located in the left field corner of Fox Cities Stadium, just off the new 360-degree concourse that wraps around the venue. Fans of all ages will be able to take a trip down the slide during Timber Rattlers games for $2 per ride. Children ages 12 and younger can enjoy unlimited slides – and play all of the games available in the Kids’ Zone – if they purchase a wristband for $7 on the day of the game.

“This is a big deal,” said Steve Zich, SVP/Chief Marketing Officer of Capital Credit Union. “When this idea was first brought to Capital Credit Union, we were really excited. It was really a no-brainer for us to be a part of because, look – we have a 30-foot slide – and one of our values that we hold dear at Capital Credit Union is that idea of having fun. What more to have fun and connect that joy, laughter and connection with the community than to have a 30-foot slide for all ages to take part in, slide down and enjoy during gameday. It’s an awesome experience that now is a part of the gameday experience that everybody – our members and the community alike – gets to partake in whenever they come out to this ballpark.”

Zich added the money collected from fans going down the slide will be going into a fund and will be distributed to charity after the season.

The Capital Credit Union Slide was created as an homage to Bernie Brewer’s slide at American Family Field, the home of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers have been the parent club of the Timber Rattlers since the 2009 season.

“We thought, ‘You know, everybody goes down to Milwaukee and they want to go down the slide, but they don’t have that opportunity,’ ” Zerjav said. “So we thought, ‘What if we added a slide that gives those kids, fans of all ages, the opportunity?’ It sort of evolved from there and then Capital Credit Union came onboard as a partner. We’re just really excited to finally have that opening day debut today. The weather is perfect and it’s really great to see everybody here enjoying it.”

In addition to the slide, the Timber Rattlers renovated the home locker room, created a new players’ lounge, installed new indoor batting cages and upgraded the weight room.

“We wanted to do some fan amenities, so we had to do some amenities for the players,” Zerjav said. “We did the home clubhouse and we did our wraparound concourse for the fans, but this (renovation) truly is that unique piece that they’re not going to see at any other minor league stadium. To see it in person three stories up from this deck, five stories up from the ground – I’m not a heights guy and to be up there, it’s high. It almost makes you want to get down that slide, but the view is just spectacular and, again, nothing else like this in minor league baseball.”

Braydon Benner, 11, from Freedom won a contest held by the Timber Rattlers to determine which fan would receive the honor of taking the first trip down the slide.

“It was very exciting,” Benner said. “There’s a little bar to grab, which was helpful because you get some speed while going down, and there’s lots of fast turns which was really fun.”

The slide will be open during the Donald Driver Charity Softball Game on Sunday and also during the upcoming WIAA state baseball tournament.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Capital Credit Union Slide opens at Fox Cities Stadium