Capital Credit Union Park hits grand slam with Salmon’s Meat

Chris Rugowski

Contributor

April 21, 2023

ASHWAUBENON – Capital Credit Union Park – the home of the Green Bay Rockers baseball team – has partnered with Salmon’s Meat Products out of Luxemburg to make the company’s jumbo wieners the official hotdog of the sports park.

As the title holder of official hotdog, Salmon’s Meat Products will be the title sponsor of Free Hot Dog Mondays for Rockers games – which offers free Salmon’s quarter-pound jumbo wieners from the time the gates open at 5:35 until 7 p.m. at all four Monday home games during the 2023 season.

Hot dog pricing at Capital Credit Union Park will also remain static for 2023, despite pricing increase trends across the sports and entertainment landscape.

Why Salmon’s?
Brian Kuklinski, director of partnerships for Capital Credit Union Park, Green Bay Rockers and Epic Event Center, said working with a local company is important to the organization.

“Part of the core values we have here at the stadium is to use as much local and be a good local community partner,” he said. “Salmon’s Meat Products is a legendary, family-owned Northeast Wisconsin business and their locally made wieners will only enhance the fan experience at Capital Credit Union Park.”

Kuklinski said with the growth and popularity of the team and the increased number of events happening at the stadium, they are approached all the time with ideas – including from team members.

“Players said they use Salmon’s hotdogs to grill out, and (having them at the ballpark) would be fantastic,” Kuklinski said.
From there, Kuklinski said that gave him all he needed to get the back-and-forth conversation going with Salmon’s to make the partnership happen.

Levi Zeitler, merchandising coordinator for Salmon’s, said there are so many avenues in which to promote products, so exploring different options are always on his mind.

“A few months ago, I reached out to the Capital Credit Union Park and the Green Bay Rockers to see if they would be interested in some of our products for their ballpark concession stands,” he said. “After some conversation, here we are, ‘The Official Hot Dog of Capital Credit Union Park’ and the Green Bay Rockers.”

Zeitler said the Salmon’s recipe has been around for 100 years, and the Ebert family who now owns the recipe is a true farm-to-fork operation, so it’s a complete circle, which he said solidifies the local connection.

//tbnapp.cdn.bubble.io/f1682096075260x732600399536072000/richtext_content.webpLevi Zeitler

“They grow the crops that feed the beef that are turned into hotdogs,” he said. “All the processing happens right on site. So, it’s a cool story with that, too.”

Through his talks with Salmon’s, Kuklinski said the Ebert family has a sense of pride from its long local heritage.

“They’re proud of all of their different entities between the restaurant in Algoma and the farm and the processing (facility) in Luxemburg,” he said. “We’re proud of the fact we are tied to this community.”

Zeitler said the team at Salmon’s Meat Products takes pride in its craft.

“A craft that has been handed down for generations with family recipes that are more than 100 years old,” he said.

A win-win
Zeitler said partnering with the Rockers and Capital Credit Union Park brings Salmon’s Meat Products into the Green Bay community on a different level than just being available in grocery stores and mini-marts.

“Maybe someone has seen our wieners at Festival Foods but never tried our products,” he said. “So, here at the Capital Credit Union Park, you have the opportunity to ‘try before you buy.’”

With Salmon’s Meat being a locally sourced company, Kuklinski said it provides patrons with the knowledge of knowing where their food comes from and what’s in it.

“The family that owns and produces it lives right here in the community,” he said. “There’s nothing coming from outside of Northeast Wisconsin that even goes into this product, and that goes back to the core values of our team, operating here in the community.”

Economically speaking, Kuklinski said sourcing locally keeps the dollars spent within the community – with that impact alone having the potential to create jobs and future revenue streams.

He calls it the “Spotted Cow Effect,” an ode to the famous New Glarus beer only sold in Wisconsin and purchased by the case and brought over state lines.

Kuklinski and his team have heard from folks in Michigan, where you can’t buy Salmon’s products, that they purchase Salmon’s meats by the case.

He said this gives the incentive to not only support local but also show off local products and be a vein to give back in an indirect way.

Kuklinski said he expects to see an uptick in hotdog sales, but one thing that won’t change is the pricing.

“The trend everywhere – grocery stores, sports stadiums and entertainment venues – has pricing going up, and we’re not doing that,” he said. “We’ve always wanted to have affordable family fun. So, the cost of our hotdog is going to be the same as you paid last year when you came to the stadium, and the same as you paid the year before.”

Kuklinski said the partnership with Salmon’s is a multi-year deal.

//tbnapp.cdn.bubble.io/f1682096143871x196949653746274500/richtext_content.webp
Levi Zietler said Salmon’s Meat Products is a true farm-to-fork operation. Photo Courtesy of Salmon’s Meat Products

“I’m comfortable sharing the fact that it’s a multi-year deal,” he said. “I think both companies have faith in each other that this is going to be a win-win for everybody. So, you’re going to see the Salmon’s jumbo wiener here for a long time.”

Baseball and hotdogs
When it comes down to it, Zeitler said baseball and hotdogs go hand in hand – it’s a pastime many can relate to in some shape or form.

“When we think of America’s pastime, we think of baseball and hotdogs,” he said. “We are proud to offer our products to those attending the Rockers games, along with all other events happening at Capital Credit Union Park.”

Kuklinski said Salmon’s jumbo hotdogs fit right in at the ballpark.

“We are proud of the fact we are one of the premier summer collegiate leagues in the country,” he said. “And our venue is one of the higher-end, and more state-of-the-art venues in the entire Northwoods League, so why not bring in a higher-end hotdog, because what goes better with baseball in the summer than a cold beverage and a hotdog?”

The first Free Hotdog Monday at Capital Credit Union Park is set for June 12.

The game against the Lakeshore Chinooks starts at 6:35 p.m.