In 1996, Tom and Sherrie launched their first minor league baseball team, the Lansing Lugnuts. Playing in Oldsmobile Park, a new stadium they developed and constructed in Lansing, Michigan, the Lugnuts have been one of the most successful professional sports franchises in minor league history. The Lugnuts set the Class-A baseball attendance record in 1996 drawing over 535,000 fans. The team’s success is unwavering, as the Lugnuts have averaged more than 400,000 fans per year over the team’s first 11 seasons. Playing a key role in the revitalization of downtown Lansing, the Lugnuts have become an integral part of the mid-Michigan community.
In large part due to the success of the Lugnuts, Tom and Sherrie were named “Entrepreneurs of the Year in the State of Michigan” in 1997.
In 2001, Tom and Sherrie purchased the Charleston Alley Cats in the South Atlantic League and began working with government officials to put together financing for a new ballpark. In October 2002, funding for the new $23.0MM facility was approved. Like its sister team in Lansing, the Charleston club plays in a new state-of-the-art facility designed by Kansas City based architects HNTB that opened in April of 2005.
In 2002, as part of a nationwide competition, Tom and Sherrie were selected by the City of Montgomery, Alabama to bring affiliated baseball to town. Montgomery, as part of its riverfront redevelopment efforts, built a new $26.0MM ballpark that opened in April 2004. Tom & Sherrie announced the team name, “Montgomery Biscuits” a year prior, and received an overwhelming response nationwide. Internet retail sales have brought Biscuits merchandise into 50 states and 7 countries. Attendance in the first three seasons has averaged over 320,000, placing the Biscuits (a AA Tampa Bay Devil Rays affiliate), as the #2 team in attendance in the Southern League despite playing in one of the League’s smallest markets. |
In addition to Lansing, Charleston and Montgomery, Tom and Sherrie have been responsible for the development of over $150MM worth of new minor league ballparks over the past eight years in markets such as Dayton, Ohio; Joliet, Illinois; Gary, Indiana; and Eastlake, Ohio.
Tom and Sherrie have been very fortunate to have not only received a variety of awards for their entrepreneurial efforts, but have been covered in a long list of national media stories including The Wall Street Journal, ESPN, USA Today, Southern Living Magazine, Smart Money Magazine, Baseball America and most recently featured on CNN.
In addition to Tom and Sherrie’s sports franchises, they own two other companies, Professional Sports Marketing, a sports consulting company, and Professional Sports Catering, a food catering company. These two companies were founded to provide wide-ranging consulting and food services for professional sports franchises around the country.
Tom and Sherrie live in Wilmette, Illinois with their son, Andrew, and Airedale Terrier, Bonz. |
