Is a Minor League Team a Viable Business Opportunity or an Expensive Hobby?

Our VIP Room premieres today with a contribution by Mike Bawden, owner/operator of the Quad City Steamwheelers, one of the original teams in the arenafootball2 (af2) League.  Mike is also the managing partner of Bawden & Lareau Public Relations, a branding, marketing and public relations consultancy located in Davenport, IA.  If you're a VIP in the minor league or independent sports business, and you have a blog, or something that you'd like to let the rest of the world know, email us.

Is a Minor League Team a Viable Business Opportunity or an Expensive Hobby?

By Mike Bawden, Owner
Quad City Steamwheelers (af2)
 

MAJOR BLOGS - VIP Room - www.majorblogs.net. - I’d hate to tell you how many times I’ve been asked that question.
 
Of course, I can understand why people might think my taking control of an af2 (arenafootball2 league) franchise (the Quad City Steamwheelers) in a matter of days was a bit impulsive.  It sure looked that way to my wife.  But from my point of view, I saw something exciting with lots of potential – not unlike the way a teenager looks at a slightly damaged sports car in need of some TLC and plenty of elbow grease.  Unfortunately, like a lot of teenage boys in that situation, I didn’t take all the time I needed to look under the hood, either.
 
So here I am, doing the Mr. Miyagi “wax on, wax off” thing like a good Daniel-san – but I’m convinced I haven’t been snookered yet.  We’ve got a lot going for us and although I’m spending more time and money than originally intended, I think we’ve got better than an even-money chance of making things work according to our plan.
 
That’s right.  We’ve got a plan.  A business plan.
 
To my amazement (and amusement), I’ve learned we’re one of the few teams in our league with a business plan.
 
Planning is what I do, though.  I do it for my regular business (I’m in the PR and Marketing field) and I do it for plenty of other businesses.  It was a natural “first step” for me when I took over the Steamwheelers in late September to start digging, asking questions and formulating a list of key business and communications strategies.
 
Player personnel decisions?  Ticket sales?  Sponsor relationships?  We’ve got people in place to obsess about those – I needed to make sure they had a plan of action that would get them all pulling in the same direction in (approximately) the same way.
 
It seems to be working so far.  Research was a part of our plan and it lead us in a direction very different from the previous owners.  We’ve made some significant changes and found group tickets and our VIP fan organization both responding positively as a result.
 
We set some ambitious targets for sponsorships and events and those numbers have come around, too.
 
If things go according to plan, 2007 could be a banner year for the Steamwheelers – and the first profitable one in the team’s 8 year history.
 
There’s just one problem with success if you’re a minor league team, though.  Great success – whether it’s a league championship or record-breaking profits – are usually met with phone calls from other teams from the league above you.  Those calls are to your players, coaches and front office staff.
 
They all leave.  Off to better opportunities.  More money.  Fame and glory.
 
As the owner,  I get to stay behind and start waxing the car all over again.  Wondering to myself if this is a viable business opportunity or just an expensive hobby.
 
Mike has a blog for his af2 club called Steamwheelin'.  Check it out!

Comments

[Aaron L Anthony]

I have to agree with Mike Bawden and state that owning a franchise is costly but it can also be fruitful in the form of doing it the right. When my partners and I started our team in Belleville we meet a lot of opposition from the powers that be we could not get the quality players that we needed. Nor could we get anyone to help in sponsoring our team. Most of all of the funding came from the owners pockets. But we have not gave up we are entering our third year and we have now found a formula for making this game become successful. I know how this game can take a toll on the owners and wish nothing but success for anyone entering professional sports as a Owner. Mike bawden i believe that the best way to keep success in semi or minor league football will be for everyone to always be positive and build connections. I hope that one day we can meet and build a connection between the Minor league and the AFL2.


Sincerely
Aaron
Belleville Giants Semi Pro football.

[James]

I agree with both previous posts. As an owner who has had a team the past 3 years, I found very quickly that my initial perception that the community and sponsors would embrace our vision and support us was far from correct. In a way that was good. What has happened over the past 3 years was that a silent network was being built without my knowledge. Each year I've met new people who have brought a different speciality to our team. I recently signed a television and radio contract for 2008 which has brought the potential for thousands in commercial ad sales. It has been very tough selling media packages on the premisis of semi or minor league football. I, like Aaron with the Belleville Giants, have hopes of validation of our level of football by a nationally recognized league. My beliefs are that until a movement for a national organization for Minor League Football is established we will continue see many obstacles in our path. Semi pro now is much like pro football in its infancy, there were so many teams and leagues no one knew what to recognize as legitimate. My goal is to bring not only local attention, but state and national recognition to the semi-pro teams that handle their business as a professional organization.
Sincerely,
James Burkheart
President-CEO
Arkansas War Cats

[macavelli]

Minor league sports is a little of both I own teams in baseball,basketball,soccer and Indoor Football.I'm also a TV Broadcaster and through that medium I have been able to see profits,when you pay salaries and venue that takes away from the bottom line unless you can off set it and big sponsorship will only be there if a team has the same driving force behind the big league teams and that is TV money.