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Study optimistic about plans for new Beloit Snappers stadium

BELOIT — Beloit Snappers officials say the results of a recent financial feasibility study bring the minor league baseball team a step closer to construction of a new stadium.

The study, one of many conducted for the team since 2002, was designed to gauge the level of regional interest and support for a new baseball stadium and year-round multipurpose facility in Beloit’s Gateway Development adjacent to Interstate 90.

The Abbey Group of Milwaukee and Rapid City, S.D., conducted the study for the 29-year-old franchise, a class A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.

“From the part (of the study) that we’ve digested so far, we definitely feel that there’s good support out there, even from people that aren’t necessarily Snappers fans per se,” Snappers Chairman Dennis Conerton said. “We got a good cross section, and it was very good news from the point of level of interest.”

According to Michael McNeely of The Abbey Group, more than 75 percent of people surveyed had favorable responses to the stadium plan. Such support is vital if a stadium is to be built.

To pay for the project, the Snappers would seek private donations to supplement a loan and other potential funding options.

When asked if a $10 million capital campaign is feasible, some 66 percent of study respondents said yes. The percentage increased to 81 percent when the goal was reduced to between $5 million and $10 million.

Read the full story in the e-edition of The Stateline News, HERE.