[quote=""smallballfan""]what makes Joliet, Schaumburg, Lake County strong?[/quote]
My guess would be their attendance numbers. Based on that alone they are stronger.
Joliet and Schaumburg both have ownership that mismanaged funds. My understanding is that the Joliet ownership lost a lot when the SCL went under.
Better owners that are focused on their markets would make those two, very viable markets.
Rockford to Golden League; League Expands
-
smallballfan
- Site Admin
- Posts: 103
- Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 4:04 am
Granted, and one could say the same of any team or business anywhere in the world - better owners, more focused, makes for a better business. That's pretty much what one learns on the first day of business school.Better owners that are focused on their markets would make those two, very viable markets.
But who are these new owners? Haven't seen anything on any prospective sale of either team. Only the generic "looking for new ownership" things. Is there a line of people wanting to buy these failing teams? Doesn't appear to be.
If I'm approached to invest in a team (and I have been), I look at what they have to offer. In the case of both Joliet and Schaumburg, the stadium itself is the only asset. Each are nice facilites for what the team should be trying to accomplish.
But that's it - years of bad press, losing money, government/team conflicts -there seems to be too much mess to clean up in either case, too much history and bad feelings between everyone involved. I'm sure every vendor in town that might throw marketing dollars to the team has long since abandoned them as well. The governments have to answer to their voters, so they aren't going to give some sweetheart deal to me as an investor, just so they can brag about having a baseball team in town - those days are long gone. So I'd be in for a ton of rent, utilities, taxes, percentages, etc.
Does either town -fans, business, government - care about either team? It sure doesn't appear so. So as an investor, in this economy, am I going to sink my cash into one of these two dark holes hoping for some miracle turnaround before I lose my butt? Do I really think I'd be some white knight, riding into town, and everyone would line up to follow me to some storybook success story? Do I want to risk that?
Nah.
Maybe they need to bring Kaval back for this effort. He was always good at finding suckers to write a check. I'm sure they'll find someone, they always do.
-
Shootmaster_44
- Site Admin
- Posts: 799
- Joined: Mon Dec 01, 2003 7:45 am
- Location: Saskatoon, SK
[quote=""smallballfan""]Shoot,
I'm curious as to which of the four NL teams are considered strong? I really only see what I read in the papers and on here, so I'm not that familiar with the inner workings. Of the four, it appears only Rockford has not been reported as bankrupt, being evicted or trying to find new ownership.
Not sniping, just trying to learn - what makes Joliet, Schaumburg, Lake County strong?[/quote]
I don't follow the Northern League super close. But the league as a whole has always seemed much better run than the Golden League. In comparison to almost all the GBL teams, I would think the Northern League teams are strong.
But perhaps I am wrong?
I'm curious as to which of the four NL teams are considered strong? I really only see what I read in the papers and on here, so I'm not that familiar with the inner workings. Of the four, it appears only Rockford has not been reported as bankrupt, being evicted or trying to find new ownership.
Not sniping, just trying to learn - what makes Joliet, Schaumburg, Lake County strong?[/quote]
I don't follow the Northern League super close. But the league as a whole has always seemed much better run than the Golden League. In comparison to almost all the GBL teams, I would think the Northern League teams are strong.
But perhaps I am wrong?
-
smallballfan
- Site Admin
- Posts: 103
- Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 4:04 am
True, compared to the GL, the NL was strong. But that's like saying compared to Enron, the Titanic was well run.
Guess we'll find out. I hope baseball succeeds, it's a great game and a great business for those who love it.
There are also those who have done more than their share to ruin it to line their own pockets (insert GL, NL, etc. executive, or current MLS executive, names here), without care of being part of a community or realizing the good that comes from having a minor league team in one's town.
Guess we'll find out. I hope baseball succeeds, it's a great game and a great business for those who love it.
There are also those who have done more than their share to ruin it to line their own pockets (insert GL, NL, etc. executive, or current MLS executive, names here), without care of being part of a community or realizing the good that comes from having a minor league team in one's town.
-
Ken, Steelheads fan
- Site Admin
- Posts: 2415
- Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2003 7:59 pm
- Location: Gary, Indiana. Otherwise, known as G.I.
- Contact:
[quote=""smallballfan""]...Of the four, it appears only Rockford has not been reported as bankrupt, being evicted or trying to find new ownership.
Not sniping, just trying to learn - what makes Joliet, Schaumburg, Lake County strong?[/quote]
Include Lake County with Rockford. No credible news source has EVER reported Lake County as bankrupt, evicted, or trying to find new ownership...or folding, for that matter. Only sources, that aren't really news at all (which includes the pseudo news of Ballparkdigest.com), cast a shadow on the future of the Lake County Fielders.
The question marks are in Joliet and Schaumburg. The village of Schaumburg already terminated the Flyers lease and the city of Joliet MAY terminate the JackHammers' lease. The team coming out of Schaumburg will not be the old Flyers, IMO. The same may be the case in Joliet, but the JackHammers are fighting having their lease terminated.
http://heraldnews.suntimes.com/sports/2 ... eball.html
Not sniping, just trying to learn - what makes Joliet, Schaumburg, Lake County strong?[/quote]
Include Lake County with Rockford. No credible news source has EVER reported Lake County as bankrupt, evicted, or trying to find new ownership...or folding, for that matter. Only sources, that aren't really news at all (which includes the pseudo news of Ballparkdigest.com), cast a shadow on the future of the Lake County Fielders.
The question marks are in Joliet and Schaumburg. The village of Schaumburg already terminated the Flyers lease and the city of Joliet MAY terminate the JackHammers' lease. The team coming out of Schaumburg will not be the old Flyers, IMO. The same may be the case in Joliet, but the JackHammers are fighting having their lease terminated.
http://heraldnews.suntimes.com/sports/2 ... eball.html
If it doesnt get resolved soon, we know what our next step will be, Thanas said.
That means the city breaks the lease with the JackHammers, who still owe $216,000 in old rent, and lines up another minor league team for next season. The city has talked about making its own deal for weeks but has held off as the threat of a bankruptcy entanglement became increasingly real.
-
J.J. Smith
- Site Admin
- Posts: 177
- Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2010 3:33 am
- Location: Lake County
[quote=""smallballfan""]
Does either town -fans, business, government - care about either team? It sure doesn't appear so.
[/quote]
I've spent a lot of time in Schaumburg over the last couple years, and I have yet to come across one person who could even mildly be considered a fan of the team. You don't see Flyers hats or shirts, they barely get mentioned in the local paper and they do next to zero marketing that I can see. They have become a source of embarrassment to the existing government. The amount of debt Ehrenreich ran up was kept quiet for years, but was revealed recently through a Freedom of Information Act request by a political opponent. They have burned about every bridge with their sleazy, incompetent business practices.
People like Alexian, but really don't care one way or the other about the Flyers. They draw pretty well on Friday nights with fireworks, on Saturday they get around 2k, Sunday less. During the week they draw small (sometimes very small) crowds. The attendance figures they report are massively overstated.
Schaumburg thinks someone is going to come in and pay off their debt to have the honor of buying a team that has been on the way down for years and is a part of a made up league with a bunch of fellow basket cases? Well, I guess there's a sucker born every minute, and they better hope they can find one with some disposable income.
This whole Golden League deal sounds like a ploy to try to inject value into a bunch of franchises that are in reality valueless.
Does either town -fans, business, government - care about either team? It sure doesn't appear so.
[/quote]
I've spent a lot of time in Schaumburg over the last couple years, and I have yet to come across one person who could even mildly be considered a fan of the team. You don't see Flyers hats or shirts, they barely get mentioned in the local paper and they do next to zero marketing that I can see. They have become a source of embarrassment to the existing government. The amount of debt Ehrenreich ran up was kept quiet for years, but was revealed recently through a Freedom of Information Act request by a political opponent. They have burned about every bridge with their sleazy, incompetent business practices.
People like Alexian, but really don't care one way or the other about the Flyers. They draw pretty well on Friday nights with fireworks, on Saturday they get around 2k, Sunday less. During the week they draw small (sometimes very small) crowds. The attendance figures they report are massively overstated.
Schaumburg thinks someone is going to come in and pay off their debt to have the honor of buying a team that has been on the way down for years and is a part of a made up league with a bunch of fellow basket cases? Well, I guess there's a sucker born every minute, and they better hope they can find one with some disposable income.
This whole Golden League deal sounds like a ploy to try to inject value into a bunch of franchises that are in reality valueless.
-
Ken, Steelheads fan
- Site Admin
- Posts: 2415
- Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2003 7:59 pm
- Location: Gary, Indiana. Otherwise, known as G.I.
- Contact:
I don't know about sleazy, incompetent business practices as you put it. Next to no marketing and not paying debts are consistent with a franchise that simply ran out of money. The Flyers ran out of money sooner than a few others. Expect more franchises to follow suit in the upcoming months and years, IMO. Kind of like what happened with national retail stores like Montgomery Ward, Circuit City, etc. Only the strong will survive. Who will survive on the sports entertainment landscape (and notice I didn't restrict it to minor leagues)? Your guess is as good as mine.
Being from the Rockford area and knowing someone with ties to the team, I do know that they did not want to go back to the Frontier league. They do not like the salary and age caps the league has.
That said, the main problem with the Chicago burb teams has a lot to do with media. These teams dont really have there own media market, what they have is Chicago or is shared with Chicago. A team like Riverhawks is a big deal here. Its the pro baseball team covered by the TV and radio stations and the newspaper (same goes with the Icehogs) on a personal level. A good number of players live in the community now. You can buy merchandise at varies stores across the city. Go into the burbs people are more concerned about the Cubs or Sox to care about that minor league team playing across town because thats what they see covered daily in the paper.
That said, the main problem with the Chicago burb teams has a lot to do with media. These teams dont really have there own media market, what they have is Chicago or is shared with Chicago. A team like Riverhawks is a big deal here. Its the pro baseball team covered by the TV and radio stations and the newspaper (same goes with the Icehogs) on a personal level. A good number of players live in the community now. You can buy merchandise at varies stores across the city. Go into the burbs people are more concerned about the Cubs or Sox to care about that minor league team playing across town because thats what they see covered daily in the paper.
Here's an update:
http://mystateline.com/fulltext-sports/?nxd_id=210246
http://mystateline.com/fulltext-sports/?nxd_id=210246
OurSports Central - //www.oursportscentral.com
OSC on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/oursportscentral
OSC on Twitter: http://twitter.com/osctoday
OSC on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/oursportscentral
OSC on Twitter: http://twitter.com/osctoday
-
Ken, Steelheads fan
- Site Admin
- Posts: 2415
- Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2003 7:59 pm
- Location: Gary, Indiana. Otherwise, known as G.I.
- Contact:
[quote=""E-TownCaps""]This is a better update for everyone.
http://www.ballparkdigest.com/201011163 ... can-league[/quote]
E-TownCaps,
With all do respect, the news on ballparkdigest.com isn't worth reading. First, it's hit and miss with a heavy emphasis on miss. Second, it's a slap in the face to actual journalists everywhere (and I'm no journalist) with its anyone can contribute, but no by-lines format.
Preeths provided a link to an actual news update where actual journalists have the integrity to stand by their work. I clicked-on both links. Ballparkdigest.com is simply adding to the confusion with that unsubstantiated drivel.
http://www.ballparkdigest.com/201011163 ... can-league[/quote]
E-TownCaps,
With all do respect, the news on ballparkdigest.com isn't worth reading. First, it's hit and miss with a heavy emphasis on miss. Second, it's a slap in the face to actual journalists everywhere (and I'm no journalist) with its anyone can contribute, but no by-lines format.
Preeths provided a link to an actual news update where actual journalists have the integrity to stand by their work. I clicked-on both links. Ballparkdigest.com is simply adding to the confusion with that unsubstantiated drivel.
