RiverHawks Stadium in foreclosure, action doesn't affect team

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wasteland
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Post by wasteland » Mon Oct 08, 2012 5:12 pm

The plot thickens.....

"The bank holding the ballpark doesn't seem too eager to sell it and has been soliciting bids for a team to play there in 2013, but there's a distinct lack of enthusiasm among potential lessors"

and...

In Rockford, two scenarios are being floated: the Frontier League's Rockford team would return, or an American Association travel team would play a portion of its games there. (Return to and there meaning Marinelli Field)

The complete story:

http://www.ballparkdigest.com/201210055 ... elli-field

wis4976
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RiverHawks aren't going anywhere

Post by wis4976 » Sun Nov 11, 2012 3:07 am

The speculation on this makes it very clear to me that none of you actually have a clue about what is really going on and what has been going on. Everyone continues to speculate without actually asking the people who are involved...the RiverHawks!

The RiverHawks went to the Northern League in 2010 and folded at he end of that season. At the start of 2011, the Chillicothe Paints ownership group moved their dark (didn't play in FL in 2009 or 2010) FL franchise to the stadium 6 weeks before the season. They inherited the Kalamazoo roster and, because of a lack of time, decided to not change the name from RiverHawks to something else. They were leasing to stadium from the previous owners (Carlson...who had separate LLCs for the stadium and team).

Yes, the bank foreclosed on the stadium (and previous ownership). As a result, current ownership (Rock River Valley Baseball, LLC) worked out a deal with the bank to continue to use the facility. Now that the foreclosure process is over (along with the previous ownership's last tie to the RiverHawks), the bank owns the stadium and a new, multi-year deal is expected to be signed within the coming weeks. As a matter of fact, current ownership is in the middle of making over $100K in improvements to the ballpark (playing surface and other areas).

As for the Ballpark Digest article, there was nearly zero fact to it. Current RiverHawks owners do have interest in Marinelli, but ONLY to have a second facility to run amateur tournaments out of, taking some strain off the RiverHawks Stadium playing surface and adding another source of revenue. The FL team will play all of their games at RiverHawks Stadium in Loves Park.

Bottom line, 2011, 2012 and future RiverHawks teams have absolutely nothing to do with the previous ownership (or all RiverHawks teams pre 2011), outstanding bills in the community, etc. The old RiverHawks were not sold to the current owners, it was a moved franchise, they just kept the RiverHawks name.

BoomerFan
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Rockford Lease Update.

Post by BoomerFan » Wed Nov 14, 2012 6:24 pm

The Riverhawks on the verge of inking a lease is good news for the FL. As one of the few privately funded ballparks in the FL, the Club is potentially an example public subsidizes are not required for Indy baseball to work.

It will be interesting to find out the amount for base rent. The bank/owner has to pay property taxes, so base rent will have to be higher than the $50,000 the Joliet Slammers worked out for Silver Cross this year.

wasteland
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Post by wasteland » Tue Apr 09, 2013 3:39 am

[quote=""one way""]Its a cash grab. They have no lease. They are bare bones. They will let at least two more employees go by Dec. If the Riverhawks do make another run with this ownership, everything will be done on the cheap and then at the end of the year poof. The president of the Riverhawks, Brian Wickline, lost Road Ranger as a sponsor, alienated the television reps, and basically turned his back on potential sponsors. Does not make much sense to me either. They lost over 300,000 dollars this year and attendance was down 37 percent under this clown's leadership. Sad[/quote]

Hey one way, you don't happen to be Daleo are you? Regrdless here an interesting link:

http://www.rrstar.com/blogs/kevinhaas/x ... t-job-fair

LOVES PARK — The Rockford Aviators will hold a job fair from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. April 27 to fill several game day positions for the summer.

Those interested can pick up an application from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at the Aviators’ office at their stadium, 4503 Interstate Blvd., Loves Park and return the completed application at the event on April 27. If an application cannot be picked up ahead of time, one can be filled out at the event.

The Aviators are members of the Frontier League, the longest running independent professional baseball league in the country. For more information, visit rockford aviators.com.

wasteland
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Post by wasteland » Mon May 05, 2014 8:22 pm

[quote=""one way""]Its a cash grab. They have no lease. They are bare bones. They will let at least two more employees go by Dec. If the Riverhawks do make another run with this ownership, everything will be done on the cheap and then at the end of the year poof. The president of the Riverhawks, Brian Wickline, lost Road Ranger as a sponsor, alienated the television reps, and basically turned his back on potential sponsors. Does not make much sense to me either. They lost over 300,000 dollars this year and attendance was down 37 percent under this clown's leadership. Sad[/quote]

And here they are, getting ready for 2014. Haven't heard anything locally about the strength of the team behind the scenes going into this season.

BlueOx
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Post by BlueOx » Tue May 06, 2014 12:53 am

It's been a couple of years since this story broke, and the RiverHawks appear to be unimpeded. I'm guessing that this season will pass about the same as the last.

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