The Malthouse – Madison, WI: April 6th, 2031

It took some bribing, but as I was finally able to get a sneak peak of the new stadium and home of the Madison Malts, formally of Canton. The Malthouse is a thing a beauty, and in five days when Madison’s hosts it’s season opener against the Okinawa Shisa, the fans will quickly realize what a gem they have in their town now.

Newly built in the heart of Madison, WI.. the Malthouse went up with amazing speed. Contractors on site did not put up signs of what was being built and large fences were erected to keep curious eyes out. All part of the efforts of owner William Marsten IV to keep the big move as quiet as possible for as long as possible.

The stadium itself can hold 45,000 fans which is a step up from Canton’s old stadium Svab Memorial, has a natural grass field, and is capped off with an impressive retractable roof that will help keep the stadium dry during the rainy months.

But most importantly, when you think of Wisconsin, you think of beer and food and the Malthouse has that in spades. Partnerships with locally operated Bavaria Sausage provides the park with it’s famous Bratwurst, Sausages, candied bacon  and imported cheeses and is just one of the many variety of food vendors throughout the stadium. Lots of local breweries will be visible throughout the concession stands as Ale Asylum has their Hoplounge in the upper terrace, Capital Brewery can be found on the lower terrace with their Supper Club dining area and bar, but the most visible brewery throughout the box level and stadium are the various New Glarus clubhouses and party bars. New Glarus will also sponsor the soon to be famous Beer Stein races which will occur during the 7th inning stretch! Will it be the Moon Man, Spotted Cow, Wisconsin Amber, or the Bedlam stein that wins the race?

If you come early and take part in the planned tailgating outside of the stadium and in the parking lots around the Malthouse, and with beer gardens and Wisconsin’s famous cheese curds available throughout the stadium seemingly within 50 feet of every seat, it will be a nightly battle of self control to stay sober long enough to watch your Malts do battle.

The park itself stretch’s 328 ft. down the left line and 376 down in left field. Left-center is 412 ft. while center field itself is cut short at 407 ft. from home plate. The longest distance in the park is out to right-center at 414 ft. which then tails off in right field at 376 ft. from home plate. The right line ends our tour at 335 ft. A pretty balanced park that caters a bit more to righties and more towards small ball, it is a beautiful new park with all the amenities you can imagine.

The fans are definitely excited for the changes and team coming to town as even after some Season Ticket increase last year in Canton, without knowing it was Canton’s final year there.. season tickets have again seen a large jump of 27.7% with the move to Madison. After averaging ~26k fans per game last year in Canton, Madison is expecting to attendance numbers in the range of 38k fans per game, an increase of ~48%! The atmosphere is charged and hopes are high as we get ready to start our first year in Madison. The team has quickly shifted focuses it seems from rebuilding to wanting to compete overnight with a free-agency that will be analyzed and criticized by Madison sports media for years to come. Will the drastic measures taken lead to success, or just put the team in financial purgatory for years to come, only leading to another hefty rebuilding effort for a losing franchise that is just so eager to win.

Marsten hopes to one day decorate the outfield and stadium with banners and trophies, acknowledging all of the greats to play in Canton/Madison; but for now we will have to make due with advertisements for beer and sausages as the team tries to dig itself out of the historical funk that has plagued the team since the inception of the PEBA. As the league’s 25th season begins tomorrow on the 7th of April, Madison will try to take the first steps back towards relevance after a flurry of signings this off season. Will fans continue to think of Vapor Lock and what could have been, as he teaches our new hitters down in Melbourne? Or is this now Marcos Sanchez’s team after his hefty offseason contract was announced, along with all the weight of the world  and expectations thrown on his shoulders to try and help Madison to remove itself out of the perpetual cellar and be PEBA’s last remaining team to finally make a playoff appearance.

I say, first let’s get back to making winning baseball a thing here in Madison. Something Canton managed only 4 times in 24 seasons, then we can think about trying to do more. Then we can begin discussing and looking forward how to take the next steps and making our way to the playoff picture in the Great Lakes.

Canton will begin the season in Palm Springs with a three game set against the powerful Codgers before we can finally celebrate our new home in Madison against the pesky Shisa. I can’t wait to have that first beer come this Friday night and I am looking forward to seeing all of the fans there. Then the Malts have a long homestand to end the month of April beginning with Duluth, then Yuma, Reno, and Palm Springs.

– Damson Actinon, The Malthouse: Revolving Tap