Following the 2019 season, a preliminary list of Minor League teams that would not be included in the new 120-team system was released. Beloit was on the list of teams that would be eliminated.

The most important factors deciding which teams would remain affiliated Minor League franchises included the quality of teams’ stadiums and their economic viability. Beloit’s longtime ballpark Pohlman Field fell short of Major League Baseball’s facility requirements and the team lacked the economic resources to fund necessary improvements to the ballpark or to build a new one. Compounding the team’s problems, the Snappers identity the team adopted in 1995 had consistently ranked near the bottom of Minor League apparel sales rankings for decades, leaving the team without an important revenue stream to make the improvements necessary to their ballpark to remain affiliated.

Unless the team could quickly come up with the funds for expensive ballpark renovations or to construct a new ballpark, 2019 would likely be the final season in the franchise’s history.

Despite the uncertainty over the team’s future, Quint and Rishy Studer offered to purchase the team and immediately began working with community members to secure the team a ballpark that would meet all MLB requirements for affiliated facilities. Many across Beloit rose up together to make the team’s stadium dreams possible, with Beloit-native Diane Hendricks spearheading a group to privately fund a new downtown stadium for both the team and the community along the banks of the Rock River.

Without any guarantee that building a new stadium would save the team from being among those eliminated in the new Minor League system, the group bet on the community and began building the new stadium anyways. In just 13 months, ABC Supply Stadium was built, immediately becoming one of the finest facilities in Minor League Baseball.

To guarantee that taxpayer funds would not be used to build or maintain the stadium, Studer agreed to take on all capital costs at the ballpark for the next 20 years. To ensure funds would be available to cover the costs of two decades of stadium maintenance, the team examined all revenue streams. While the strongest Minor League brands generate over a million dollars in merchandise revenue on an annual basis, the Snappers were averaging under $50,000, and sales had been steadily declining for nearly two decades. That would need to change for the team to become economically viable, and Beloit Baseball announced it would take a new identity before the 2022 season.

With the construction of ABC Supply Stadium and the team providing a sound economic plan centered around their rebrand, Major League Baseball awarded Beloit a 10-year contract to be the High-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, saving the franchise.

To develop their new identity, Beloit Baseball enlisted the help of Brandiose, the nation’s leading brand development company for Minor League teams. The team began a public name submission process, asking the fans two questions: 1. Do you want the Snappers name to stay or the team to adopt a new name? and 2. What should that new name be? Over 1,000 fans submitted their feedback and over two-thirds of those fans preferred the team take a new name.

With a list of over 1,000 potential team names submitted by fans in hand, the team and Brandiose evaluated each name sent in by fans. Each name was checked for connection to the community, potential trademark availability, similarities to existing teams and brands, the location of the fan who submitted the name, and creative possibilities. After developing a narrowed list, Brandiose visited Beloit for an extensive multi-day survey of the community, holding numerous focus groups with hundreds of fans and community members. Following those meetings, the team emerged with five finalists that had been submitted and vetted by fans in the Stateline area and that cleared all necessary trademark hurdles.

The team then presented those five finalists -- Sky Carp, Moo, Polka Pike, Supper Clubbers, and Cheeseballs -- to the community in a fan vote to select the team’s new identity.

Thousands of fans cast their votes for their favorite name, and Sky Carp edged out Supper Clubbers as the fan’s choice with Cheeseballs placing third and Polka Pike and Moo ranking fourth and fifth, respectively.

A slang term for a goose that does not migrate in the winter, instead preferring to stay in its home city, the Sky Carp name represents the city of Beloit -- a flourishing, innovative town so vibrant and strong that no one wants to leave.

For many decades, small and mid-market towns have struggled to retain talent in their communities. After graduating high school, many students make the choice to head to big cities for college and then remain there as they begin their careers, many never bringing their talents back home. Beloit was no different.

However, in recent years, Beloit has undergone a revitalization. Investments from the Hendricks family and many others in the community have helped create a vibrant, bustling downtown and business district full of opportunity, jobs, great food, entertainment, and housing options.

The addition of ABC Supply Stadium, a year-round community events center that will host Minor League Baseball, youth and college sports, concerts, fundraisers, and more throughout the calendar year, will help continue to catalyze the growth of downtown Beloit, bringing hundreds of thousands of customers into the city’s center and to businesses surrounding the ballpark. The continued growth of Beloit will make it not just a city that residents don’t want to leave, but one that attracts top talent from across the Midwest and nation.

The mission of Beloit Baseball is not to win baseball games, but to win off the field, helping improve the quality of life for all in the Stateline region and to make Beloit the best place to live in the world. With team ownership committing that all profits generated by the team will be re-invested in the community, the team is dedicated to making Beloit a Sky Carp city, one so great that no one wants to leave - not even the geese!