Wausau convention bureau buys Badger State Games

The demise of the Badger State Games was short-lived.

Two months after the Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation announced the end of the Olympic-style events, the Wausau Convention and Visitors Bureau resurrected the brand, according to a report by the Journal Sentinel's Don Walker.

The Wausua agency has paid $15,000 to purchase the brand name, "Badger State Games," and plans to stage winter and summer events.

Winter events will be held Feb. 3 through Feb. 5 next year in Wausau. The number of winter events will be reduced.

The summer events will stay in the Fox Cities area for at least three years, with at least five events, and perhaps more. Wrestling, swimming, soccer, track and field, and basketball are by far the most popular events and will be retained, said Darien Schaefer, the bureau's executive director.

The shift to local ownership comes nearly two years after a split that left the Badger State Games without about $1000,000 in operating money and local organizers.