Roc Ventures has made quite a splash in Franklin, launching The Rock Sports Complex, the Milwaukee Milkmen, Luxe Golf bays, a drive-in movie theater and more. But today marks its biggest splash yet, taking over the City of Oconomowoc and rebranding it as “The Woc.”
“People have referred to the Ballpark Commons and The Rock Sports Complex as almost a city within a city – which gave me the idea: What if we actually just … took over an entire city?” said Roc Ventures CEO Brock Crockman. “So, we present: The Woc.”
The new city complex will feature many of the elements previously seen in Oconomowoc, including homes, roads, banks, restaurants, grocery stores, schools, theaters and other popular amenities typically found in a city. However, visitors will also note a brand new Woc sheen.
For instance, both “Woc” and “Don’t Woc” pedestrian signals have already been installed at crosswalks on Main Street and Woc-onsin Avenue, formerly Wisconsin Avenue.
“Heck, if this goes over well, we might try to change the whole dang state’s name to Woc-onsin,” says Crockman.
The organization will also take over the Milkmen’s American Association of Professional Baseball rival Lake Country DockHounds, in the process renaming the team “the Lake Country WocHounds.”
“We’re trying to make to make the city a little hipper, a little trendier, a little catchier to say,” said former mayor and current The Woc general manager Bob Targus. “We’re hoping ‘The Woc’ catches on and becomes as beloved to locals as calling Boston ‘Bean Town’ and San Francisco ‘Frisco.'”
“Honestly, no one could spell Oconomowoc, anyway,” he added.
Indeed, Targus explained the rebranding effort is a part of an overall goal to grow the former Oconomowoc’s presence in the national spotlight and help it stand out against similar Wisconsin cities and townships.
“We got a lot of people thinking this was place where ‘Making a Murderer’ happened, and we had to shoo away a lot of true crime podcasts and documentarians snooping around car lots and break it to them that that was Manitowoc,” Targus noted. “So that wasn’t great. And then people got excited about that Charlie Berens guy making videos themed around us, and we had to explain, no, that’s Manitowoc too.
“We’re trying to reclaim the ‘woc.'”
The new rebrand goes all-out, not just changing the name of the city’s baseball team but also to restaurants and beyond. The local fast casual Chinese restaurant is now called “Wong’s Woc,” and the local students will now play a new winter ice skating-based team sport called “wockey” – a name Crockman was hoping to use on the Wisconsin-based clothing brand Jockey as well, only to find out that’s located in Kenosha.
“Looks like we’ve got another city rebrand on the docket,” he could be heard muttering. “Or should I say ‘on the woc-ket.'”
Crockman even plans to legally change his name to Woc Wockman.
Crockman and Targus also hope to start a new summer live music series in the village of Lac Woc La Belle called “Woc ‘n’ Roll.”
“In case it’s not clear, we’ve really gone all in on ‘The Woc,'” Targus told reporters. “We’re really hoping it works as well as The Rock. Because, if not, we’re woc-ked.”
This content was originally published here.
