Playing this season in empty stadiums isn’t really an option for minor league baseball teams like the Class-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
Major league teams can absorb the losses for a while because the fans in the stands only represent 30-to-40 percent of their yearly revenue.
The Timber Rattlers depend only on ticket sales and fans buying hot dogs and drinks. The team draws an average of 3,500 fans to its games and it needs that money to pay 29 full-time workers and another 400 seasonal staff members.
One effort to survive financially is based on the sale starting last week of stock, something like the Packers.
No voting rights, no increase in value, just a membership certificate for 50 dollars. The Rattlers say they have sold 300 so far.
