Pohlman Field reflected a bygone era of simple, affordable, community-centric minor league baseball that just does not exist anymore, and there's something to be said about that. It's easy to overlook the fact that a major reason the ballpark has not had any major upgrades in its 40 years is because prices were always kept low to make this affordable to fans, and nearly every penny of profit went back to the city. In the 11th hour, when it looked like MLB was all but set to abandon the market with the new minor league takeover, the community stepped to the plate once again to fund this new park almost entirely with private financing, most significantly by team owner Quint Studer and local philanthropist Diane Hendricks (think of her as the Herb Kohl of Beloit). Nutty political views aside, Diane saved this franchise almost singlehandedly, and that spirit is what embodies this team and the city of Beloit. The Snappers and the city deserve a new ballpark, but it would not exist without the decades of building a fanbase and community at Pohlman Field first.
Erik and I have never been so excited to go to Beloit in our lives. I'm pumped to see the new stadium, which looks gorgeous, and the new branding as well. We may have a very imminent Tour stop in our future.
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.
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