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Snappers board rejects buyout; offer remains on table

Beloit SnappersThe Beloit Snappers (Low Class A; Midwest League) Board of Directors rejected a buyout offer Monday night, but Brian Christianson says the offer is still on the table and can be reconsidered in coming months.

Christianson, a former Snappers board member and president, is sounding an alarm: with the Professional Baseball Agreement (PBA) widely expected to revised in 2020, a ballpark like Pohlman Field, the Snappers home, won’t meet the new standards, leaving to the potential loss of Minor League Baseball in five years.

“I have been on a rescue mission to save Minor League Baseball in Beloit since Ken Hendricks
hired me 10 years ago to find a sustainable solution,” Christianson said. “Today, the franchise is
in six-figure debt, has no reserve funds to pay the debt service, has league low attendance, few
corporate sponsorships and has lost our Midwest fan base for the Brewers and Twins
affiliations.”

The late Ken Hendricks, a entrepreneur who ended up on the Forbes 400 list before his death in 2007, had pledged $2 million toward a new Snappers ballpark. His wife, Diane, has left the offer open.

Christianson said he initiated the unsolicited offer to purchase the franchise 60 days ago
because “we are running out of options to keep this community asset in Beloit.”

“During my three years serving on the Snappers Board, we never once considered the benefits
of private ownership; perhaps because we were never presented an offer for consideration,”
said Christianson.

Christianson speculated that something good may come of his effort.

“The Board now has some breathing room. They have two more monthly board meetings to
evaluate their financial condition before Opening Day and the season consumes their energies,”
said Christianson. ”They don’t need me banging on their door asking to come in and rescue
them.”

Christianson said he will notify Minor League Baseball (MiLB) President Pat O’Conner, MiLB
Legal Counsel Scott Poley and owners throughout the Midwest League that he will remain a
“buyer with interest.”

RELATED STORIES: Christianson: Time for Snappers sale; O’Conner: Beloit will need to address ballpark issue

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