Bringing Athletics to Your Community

May mid-range cities struggle to bring athletics into town, but there is a model for bringing Hockey, Soccer or other sports teams to your community.

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, a class A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, is structured as a non-profit, similar to the Green Bay Packers. There are 240 members of the Appleton Baseball Club, Inc., each of whom bought from one to fifty shares in the Timber Rattlers at $25 per share. They elect a 21-member board of directors, who in turn elect an eight-member executive committee. The Timber Rattlers generate more revenue in merchandise sales than any other minor league team in the country, and in 1995 sold 209,000 tickets, a 133,000 jump over the 1994 number. Because it's a non-profit, all this cash is in turn pumped back into the team and the stadium. 

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Home Page has a section with Team History.

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