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Aviators Stadium On Auction Block
02/26/2015
LOVES PARK, IL-Starting March 25th Aviators Stadium will be on the auction block. Northside Community Bank of Gurnee is putting the Stadium up for sale.
The bank foreclosed on the ballpark in February of 2012 when the former owners were unable to make payments. Bidding will take place online through Rick Levin & Associates and run through April 2. The bidding is expected to start at $1.5 million.
The Aviators are owned by Chris Hanners of Rock River Valley Baseball based in Chillicothe, Ohio. He does not own the stadium. Last August he turned the operations of the Aviators over to MKE Sports & entertainment of Milwaukee. MKE owner Mike Zimmerman says in a press release that the Aviators will be playing ball this coming season despite the stadium auction.
"We do have a lease with the bank thru the 2015 season and can guarantee the Rockford Aviators will be playing baseball at Love’s Park this summer."
Zimmerman says the long-term answer to securing the Aviators future in Rockford might be a partnership involving the Rockford Park District.
"Last summer we were introduced to the opportunity to manage the Rockford Aviators. As we considered this opportunity, we learned of the Reclaiming First Project and met with the Rockford Park District about a potential private, public partnership," says Zimmerman. "In the months since our first meeting, the park district and MKE Sports have had preliminary discussions on how we might work together to leverage the team, its stadium and the expanding SportsCore II sports complex. The possibilities are truly powerful and are the reasons we want to be in Rockford for the long term."
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