One of the dark aspects of independent baseball is when teams do not do well, many people who are owed money by the teams get judgments in their favor but still do not receive the money. The Schaumberg Flyers, formerly of the Northern League and possibly still in the North American League for 2011, received an eviction notice last week.
Here is a report from the Schaumberg area with quotes from vendors who are owed respectable amounts of money:
Many similar stories have happened across North American independent baseball, especially in the past few years with the landscape of the leagues changing as much as they have. Here is hoping that the parties can agree to deals and receive their payments. Hopefully this will reduce the risk of independent baseball having the negative stigma in the eyes of the fans that independent baseball owners are greedy people who refuse to pay their bills, especially when ordered by a court or other legal entity.
If nothing else, the recent string of owners not paying their bills on time (or at all) should be the “wake up call” for independent baseball teams to finally take advantage of their “independence” and take action to open up new revenue channels. There are several ways in which teams can generate new revenues for free, many of which can be established and/or maintained by interns. The teams even can make money from those people who live outside of the team’s area and who only visit the teams’ websites and social media properties. Even though these people, for one reason or another, will never put a penny in the teams’ pockets from ticket revenues, concessions, parking, merchandise sales, or sponsorship dollars it is still possible to make money from them passively in ways where everyone benefits.
If you are involved with a professional independent minor league baseball team or league then you are welcome to contact me for more information. Again, stories like the one above do not have to be as severe or even happen in the first place. Ridicule from baseball fans, the sports media, and affiliated leagues/teams can be mitigated by being smart and adapting with the times. Having gone through this situation numerous times, it is sad to see others experiencing the same concerns especially if the parties owed money acted in good faith and delivered their goods/services/time as promised. Hopefully, sound business practices take hold in 2011 across the industry, and all baseball fans see a decline in this tendency.
Interested in web3 and pro baseball? If so, get your own web3 (NFT) baseball domain name! Click this link to discover more information.
If you are looking for savings and free shipping on baseball equipment and gear then Click Here or click on this image:
Discover more about the available NFTs specific to affiliated and independent minor league baseball teams and players: Independent Minor League Baseball NFT non-fungible tokens and digital art
Get notified of upcoming independent baseball tryouts from either of these services: first service or the second service. Prospective players can find some helpful resources here
See the list of former / folded independent baseball teams since 1993 and get non-official merchandise featuring those teams: Former Independent Baseball Teams And Merchandise
Do you collect or sell baseball cards and other sports memorabilia? If so, then here are some helpful resources plus where to get independent baseball merchandise from folded teams. Click Here to discover more.