Snappers haven't let new stadium plans die

Location remains biggest problem

By Rob Lucas
Beloit Daily News

The Beloit Snappers are still hoping to get a new stadium built.

The problem now is they don't know where.

After the land swap between Mulder Dairy Farms and Rock County was voted down, the Snappers were back to square one when it came to a new facility.

“We've had some good meetings,” Snappers General Manager Jeff Vohs said. “The board met with the City of Beloit in early March and had some good discussions. Nothing is set but that's a huge step, to have good meetings.”

The Snappers thought they had a perfect location for a new stadium, but the Rock County Board of Supervisors voted down the proposed land swap unanimously. Now the Snappers must go back to the beginning to find a new location for a stadium.

“We've gone back and revisited some locations we looked at in the past along the interstate and closer to Beloit,” Snappers Chairman of the Board Dennis Conerton said. “We don't have any details worked out yet, but we remain optimistic.”

The Snappers and the Minnesota Twins have extended their partnership through 2008, but the agreement is with the team, not with the city. Unless the Snappers get a new stadium soon, the possibility of the team leaving has become very real.

“I think it's finally sunk in and people are starting to realize that it's something that could happen (the Snappers leaving),” Conerton said. “After the county board voted down the stadium and fair grounds deal, it became clear that we may not be able to stay here long term.”

“It's been determined that long-term would be tough to survive at Pohlman Field,” added Vohs.

Pohlman Field is one of the worst stadiums in the entire Midwest League, if not all of Minor League Baseball, but some people still do not realize how out of date the stadium has become.

“We are trying to educate people,” Vohs said. “People come up to me and honestly don't think anything is wrong with Pohlman Field. It's not what Minor League Baseball is going towards as far as fan amenities and player and coach facilities.”

“People year after year that write about Minor League Baseball come through and say Pohlman Field is no better than a glorified Legion Field,” Conerton added.

A new stadium in Beloit could include an open concourse so fans could still keep an eye on the game while getting snacks, a number of suites local businesses could rent out, a video board to enhance the fans entertainment, different levels of seating, and a picnic area in the outfield.

The stadium would be privately funded and had an estimated budget of around $18 million last year, including the price of land and the facility. Seating capacity for a new stadium would be somewhere around 4,000, according to Vohs, similar to the stadium Cedar Rapids plays in.

Building a new park in a prime location has been a surefire way to produce more revenue. It worked in Appleton for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, a blueprint the Snappers are trying to mirror.

In 1995, Major League Baseball set new standards for minor league facilities, and both Beloit and Wisconsin fell below those standards, The Snappers chose to renovate Pohlman Field, adding new locker rooms and the business offices. Wisconsin built a new stadium off an interstate and went from drawing 75,000 fans a year to 225,000 during their first season. They have yet to draw less than 200,000 since the move. The Snappers, meanwhile, continue to draw some of the lowest fan numbers in MiLB.

“We remain optimistic that we can come up with a site and the funding,” Conerton said. “The last opportunity we had the site and the funding. Now we are back to not having the site and maybe not all the funding, but we do have people who want to help us.”