Another Minor League Baseball exec has joined the ranks of NBA Developmental League leaders, as former Lowell Spinners President/GM Tim Bawmann is the new President of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
Bawmann begins his duties immediately. He succeeds Jeff Potter, who will remain with the Mad Ants in an advisory capacity until his contract expires in September.
“We are exceptionally pleased to bring a man of Tim’s experience, leadership, skills and success to the Mad Ants,” said Pacers Sports & Entertainment President Rick Fuson. “He will certainly assist us in our goal of making the Mad Ants a model D-League franchise and a prominent presence in the Fort Wayne community.”
It’s an interesting time to head the Mad Ants, especially with his background in facilities management: the team currently shares Memorial Coliseum with the Fort Wayne Komets, but a city committee changed with mapping the future of a new downtown Fort Wayne arena is recommending the city move forward with what could be a $65 million, 4,500-seat facility.
With the Spinners, Bawmann oversaw record revenue and attendance growth, including a 10-year streak of home-field sellouts. Corporate sponsorship increased by 35 percent. He managed a full-time staff of 12 and a season support staff of 30. During his tenure the Spinners launched the Nashua Silver Knights, a summer-collegiate team, as Bawmann directed the start-up efforts of a founding member of a newly created league and quickly drove the franchise to significant increases in attendance, merchandise, food and beverage and corporate sponsorships. More on his background at Ballpark Digest.
“I look forward to building the Pacers brand through the Mad Ants organization,” he said in a press statement. “My goal is to make the Mad Ants the number one destination for family entertainment each season. Jeff Potter and his staff have laid the foundation and I plan to build on their work to make the Mad Ants game experience entertaining for fans of all ages through creative promotions and top notch customer service.”
This is the second high-profile hiring from MiLB by an NBA Developmental League team in recent weeks: former Lake County Captains Vice President and General Manager Brad Seymour now heads the Windy City Bulls, the Chicago Bulls’ new team playing out of the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.
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