RiverHawks Stadium in foreclosure, action doesn't affect team

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wasteland
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Post by wasteland » Tue Feb 28, 2012 6:37 pm

[quote=""Ken, Steelheads fan""]Sounds like famous last words to me, especially considering problems with other area independent teams.[/quote]

I don't get what you mean. Its not like the bank is going to shut down the stadium and bulldoze it. They'll try to sell it fast and cheap, having a tenant will make it a little easier (not much) to unload it. A lease agreement is a lease agreement.

Carlson was screwed when the stadium took an extra year to build. It was built at a time when the realestate market was at its peak. That area was also supposed to be home to an outlet mall and a gutair museuam/hotel that had Rick Nielson's name attached to it (west side of the interstate). When there was talk of building a new east side arena the area right next to the stadium was often talked about as the location. All the road work has been done, it'll be a long time, if at all, to see development pick back-up at that location.

I'm sure it also hurt when Road Ranger didn't renew the naming rights. Just not a lot of revenue being generated.

At the time I bet this investment looked like a no brainer to Carlson. At least he was able to unload the Riverhawks to a stable ownership.
Last edited by wasteland on Tue Feb 28, 2012 6:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Ken, Steelheads fan » Wed Feb 29, 2012 6:08 pm

[quote=""wasteland""]...Bryan Wickline, Rockford RiverHawks president, said the foreclosure doesn't affect the baseball team, which is scheduled to begin its home schedule on May 25 against the Lake Erie Crushers.

"This foreclosure has nothing to do with the organization," Wickline said. "This is between the bank and the ownership of the stadium. We have a long-term lease. We’ll be working with the bank or with a new entity."
...
[/quote]

I mean I don't believe an organization when it makes statements like, The foreclosure doesn't affect the baseball team, or statements like This foreclosure has nothing to do with the organization. That's why I said it sounds like famous last words. Organizations have made similar statements like, We'll be just fine, then poof! They're gone.

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Post by wasteland » Wed Aug 22, 2012 9:26 pm

Riverhawks, high school and college games along with other events have continued as promised earlier this year.

http://mystateline.com/fulltext-sports?nxd_id=349822

Loves Park, Illinois-RiverHawks Stadium has moved through the final phase of a brankruptcy process. The Share of Sale of the ballpark was to have taken place Tuesday.

The stadium had been owned by local developer Kurt Carlson. Foreclosure proceedings on the it began late last winter. The stadium is now in the hands of a suburban Chicago bank. The bank will try to find a new owner.

RiverHawks' President Bryan Wickline says the RiverHawk's lease is now null. However he expects the RiverHawks to work on a new lease with the new owner. Wickline says baseball will go on in Rockford regardless of whom owns the stadium.

The owner of the RiverHawks is Rock River Valley Baseball. That group does not, and has not owned the stadium. It had a lease agreement with Carlson to continue to play there.

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Post by Ken, Steelheads fan » Fri Sep 14, 2012 7:13 pm

...and if the bank cannot find an owner? The bank won't bulldoze the site, but the bank is not likely to maintain the ballpark or keep the utilities on either.

Actual good news from the Riverhawks would be that THEY are buying the ballpark. Right now, all they are giving the public is a lot of double-speak. If I was a season ticket holder in Rockford, then I would wait for better news before parting with my deposit.

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Post by preeths » Fri Sep 14, 2012 7:21 pm

Would you keep the utilities on and maintain the ballpark if that costs less than the RiverHawks and other events pay for its use? Presumably they'll have to keep some utilities on just to preserve their asset.

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Loves Park is not a city-owned stadium

Post by Ken, Steelheads fan » Fri Sep 14, 2012 8:48 pm

Keep the utilities on, yes...for awhile. Maintain the property, no...not at all. If an owner cannot be found soon then winterize and shutter the ballpark, but continue to market the property. Banks generally aren't in the business of managing ballparks.

If the ballpark can be operated at a profit from the Riverhawks and other events revenue (and that's a HUGE if), then that would make good selling points to potential buyers. However, and as originally intended, a major tenant (Riverhawks?!?) needs to own the ballpark. Private ballpark investors are few and far between, especially in areas like Rockford.

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Post by preeths » Sat Sep 15, 2012 8:43 pm

If they don't maintain the property, it will likely fall into a condition where it will be virtually unsellable without substantial investment. That just happened in Atlantic City. It may very well be less expensive to maintain the property than to get it back into decent enough shape to sell.

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r/hawk stadium...

Post by ca » Sun Sep 16, 2012 10:24 am

imo better be maintained or it may become un useable which reminds one of the mess over in joliet

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Post by wasteland » Mon Sep 17, 2012 6:52 pm

I didn't know Ken was in banking and real estate. (note the sarcasam)

But one way to move this stadium is to have a long term tennant like the Riverhawks with a new lease in hand. That’ll make it much more attractive to potential investors. When you buy a commercial property, you do so for the potential income that can be generated, if there is already income coming in, that’s a plus. Plus the Riverhawks have a history of booking dates for other events. I can only assume another positive in the possible sale. I’ve seen many properties fall into foreclosure and no bank is going to stop upkeep and shutter mere months after acquisition. There's a reason why the bank bought the stadium. It’ll be years before they get to that point.

And I think it’s a terrible idea for these small indie teams to own a stadium. That has financial disaster written all over it.

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Post by Ken, Steelheads fan » Mon Sep 17, 2012 9:14 pm

[quote=""wasteland""]I didn't know Ken was in banking and real estate. (note the sarcasam)

But one way to move this stadium is to have a long term tennant like the Riverhawks with a new lease in hand. That’ll make it much more attractive to potential investors. When you buy a commercial property, you do so for the potential income that can be generated, if there is already income coming in, that’s a plus. Plus the Riverhawks have a history of booking dates for other events. I can only assume another positive in the possible sale. I’ve seen many properties fall into foreclosure and no bank is going to stop upkeep and shutter mere months after acquisition. There's a reason why the bank bought the stadium. It’ll be years before they get to that point.

And I think it’s a terrible idea for these small indie teams to own a stadium. That has financial disaster written all over it.[/quote]

Well, the old lease isn't worth the paper it was written on now that the original owner is in default. So you're absolutely correct, the Riverhawks will need a new lease in hand...which brings me back to my original point. When the current Riverhawks owners announced their lease was not affected by the ballpark's financial crisis, then they weren't exactly being straight-forward.

[quote=""wasteland""]...I’ve seen many properties fall into foreclosure and no bank is going to stop upkeep and shutter mere months after acquisition. There's a reason why the bank bought the stadium. It’ll be years before they get to that point...
[/quote]

I've also seen many properties fall into foreclosure, but I've seen no upkeep from the banks. In a foreclosure case close to me, the tenants asked who they should send their rent payments. The bank said, send it to us. When the pipes burst that winter and flooded the place, the bank said move out. They weren't fixing the problem.

I think the bank will allow the Riverhawks to pay to play (without a lease) next season, but the nanosecond the facility isn't profitable then the bank will padlock the place. The bank has already lost a ton on the deal.

[quote=""wasteland""]...There's a reason why the bank bought the stadium. It’ll be years before they get to that point...
[/quote]

...and this is where we differ big time. The bank bought the stadium for one reason and one reason only. The previous owner defaulted on the bank loan.

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