Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/504765
24 | I NSIGH T • M a y 2 0 15 w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m Baseball had not forced the issue in the early 1990s. With millions of dollars being invested in up-and-coming talent, MLB decided it had too much at stake for its prospects to play in inadequate stadiums minus modern amenities and training tools. In 1994, MLB adopted minimum standards for minor league facilities such as clubhouses and fields. e age of the character stadiums featured in movies such as "Bull Durham" had come to an end. "We were woefully short," says John Wollner, the first president of the Timber Rattlers. While Appleton had been home to professional baseball for nearly 100 years at that point, the team — then the Appleton Foxes — was playing at Goodland Field, a relic of the 1940s and well short of the new standards. e future of baseball was very much in doubt. Longtime fans fondly recall the old stadium and that era in the team's history. "It was a little more old-school, but it was a great place to watch a game," says Neenah-resident Jeff Kroll, who has followed the T-Rats since the 1970s. "True, the stadium was a little run-down, and parking was terrible, but I loved going." Even with the positive recollections of Goodland, Kroll says the T-Rats made the right move to build a new stadium. "It was time," he says. "If they were going to stay competitive in the market they are in, they had to do it." e options were pretty simple: upgrade Goodland, sell It's not an aberration. Summer's pastime has become a multi-faceted and year-round proposition. "Our primary focus will always be about marketing baseball," says Zerjav, who became president and general manager of the team at 27. "But we will look at every opportunity that helps us do that." In many ways, that's the economic reality of sports, from top flight teams in the largest markets to the small independents at the sport's lowest levels. In order to put an affordable product on the field and ensure long-term survival, sports teams have branched into other ventures to keep themselves financially viable. e Green Bay Packers run year-round operations in the atrium of Lambeau Field and have been acquiring property around Lambeau Field with an eye toward retail developments that would help support the team. e Milwaukee Bucks recently announced plans for a new downtown arena that includes retail, office and entertainment developments. While not to the same scale, the Timber Rattlers — as well as many of the other teams in Minor League Baseball — are pursuing revenue opportunities outside the team and the season. Every dollar earned outside ticket sales enhances the team's financial strength and enhances the experience it can offer. Professional baseball in Appleton may never have become the $5 million-a-year enterprise it is today if Major League Grand Slam! c o n t i n u e d "Minor League baseball went from being a mom-and-pop operation to being a business. We came in at the right time with a group of young and passionate people, and many of them are still involved." Rob Zerjav, Timber Rattlers president and general manager O n this particular Friday, T-Rats staff flit about the stadium. A visiting group of nearly 200 are holding a meeting in the Timber Rattlers banquet venue — one of the team's newest ventures; marketing staff works on new promotions for the season; mascots are escorted to and from public appearances; and the community relations staff works with young fans — and schools — from Michigan's Upper Peninsula to south of Fond du Lac.