Northwoods League Introduces New Team in Rockford, Illinois
October 14, 2015 - Northwoods League (Northwoods) News Release
Rockford Joins Northwoods League
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Rochester, Minn. - The league where Chris Sale, Max Scherzer, Curtis Granderson, Mark Melancon and well over 100 other current and former major-league baseball players once spent their summers is coming to the Stateline.
The Northwoods League announced on Tuesday, October 13, in a press conference at the BMO Harris Bank Center that it has awarded a franchise to the Rockford area for the 2016 season. The franchise will be owned and operated by Rockford Baseball Properties, LLC and will play its home games at a to-be renamed stadium in Loves Park.
"We're excited to bring our product to the greater Rockford community and to the wonderful facility in Loves Park," said Northwoods League President Dick Radatz, Jr. "The fact that 194 players got drafted last year kind of speaks for itself as far as the talent running around the Northwoods League and drawing over 1.1 million fans speaks to the quality experience we're offering to fans league-wide."
The team has signed a five-year lease with Gurnee-based Northside Bank, the owner of the ballpark at 4503 Interstate Blvd. previously known as RiverHawks Stadium, Road Ranger Stadium and Aviators Stadium. The Northwoods League team has no ties to any of the prior teams.
The team is owned by Radatz, a co-founder of the Northwoods League. Chad Bauer, the team's general manager, has successfully launched new Northwoods League teams in Green Bay and Mequon, Wisc.
"Coming into a startup like Rockford, the top three things we want to accomplish are: elevating the appearance of the stadium, by cleaning and repairing the things that have been neglected; hiring a friendly and professional staff; elevating the quality of our concessions to a restaurant-quality level," Bauer said. "We've found in other markets that these three things are key elements to successful franchises."
With the addition of Rockford to the South Division the La Crosse Loggers will move from the South to the North Division for the 2015 season.
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 Rockford Joins Northwoods League |
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