It’s the ninth inning of Doug Nelson’s tenure with the Cedar Rapids Kernels

CEDAR RAPIDS — A fan first. Then the CEO.

Now back to being a fan. Eventually.

Doug Nelson walked around the concourse on a chilly Wednesday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium, chatting with various people. That’s not easy for a self-professed introvert.

Everyone wanted to talk about his impending retirement. Nelson, 61, announced over the winter he is stepping down as the Cedar Rapids Baseball Club’s Chief Executive Officer after 23 years on the job.

His successor has not been hired, though interviews have been conducted. Nelson will stay on for awhile to tutor the new CEO, then he’ll go back to what he was doing before he got this job: sitting in the stands as a season-ticket holder.

“That’s the beauty,” Nelson said. “I’m looking for my cake and eating it, too. I’m still going to be a fan, I’m still going to be at every game.”

Nelson leaves a lasting legacy with the Kernels. He was hired full time in 2003 after working in the chief administrator office at Four Oaks of Iowa.

Tom Barbee was on the board of directors for the Kernels and Four Oaks and asked Nelson to help the club as it adjusted financially to a new ballpark. The newer Veterans Memorial Stadium opened in 2002.

“My wife JoAnn and I had been season-ticket holders since the late ’80s. I’ve always been a baseball fan and of Cedar Rapids,” Nelson said. “So when the ballclub went to the new ballpark, they were just struggling with the business model. Nobody was doing anything wrong, it was just that this is a much different environment than what it was before.

“The business of baseball got into my blood, the community got into my blood, and here I am.”

There have been multiple times of turmoil that Nelson and longtime General Manager Scott Wilson have had to help guide the club through, especially the last five years.

The COVID pandemic canceled the 2020 season and shortened the 2021 season. A derecho in August 2020 did severe damage to Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Major League Baseball completely took over operations of the minor leagues, changed the player-development model and axed 42 franchises from affiliated baseball. Cedar Rapids survived after the parent Minnesota Twins wrote a letter of support for the Kernels to MLB.

The costs of remaining in affiliated baseball substantially increased in large part due to new ballpark specifications. That forced the Kernels to make $3.34 million in stadium upgrades in 2023.

“I’m first looking at the list, and I’m thinking ‘Where in the world are we going to get this kind of money?’” Nelson said. “Then seeing the way the city just stepped up. I didn’t have to do a lot of pleading. I made my ask, but they stepped up, gave us the resources to do it. Then the amazing job Scott Wilson did on managing it. It was the first construction job ever that came in under budget and on time.

“When I look back at it, I’m just amazed at all the support that we’ve gotten to help us overcome so many challenges ... We’ve come out stronger now than we’ve ever been.”

Which makes him at ease with his decision to retire.

“I’m just proud of our entire community, our staff,” Nelson said. “I’m very proud of what we’ve done to create a special place for this community to gather, because that’s why I’m here. I saw an opportunity 23 years ago, the potential this ballclub could provide to the community.

“I love everything about the organization. It’s just that I have reached an age where working 60, 70, 80-hour weeks week after week after week is getting difficult. So I’d just love to get a part-time 40-hour-a-week job.”

And go back to being a fan.

Comments: jeff.johnson@thegazette.com