From the 1999 Michigan Battle Cats yearbook; page 17:
We’re More Than Just a Game!
The Michigan Battle Cats Baseball Club brings many benefits to our area.
Tangibles
- $200,000.00 The Entire Battle Cats player payroll is paid by the Houston Astros and spent in the Battle Creek area (Outside money infused into our economy.)
- $100,000.00 Visitors spend thousands of dollars in area motels, shops and restaurants. (Visiting teams, umpires, scouts, officials, players’ families and fans.)
- $200,000.00 The Battle Cats employ ten full-time front office staff who live in the area year-round (full-time local jobs are created.)
- $100,000.00 The Battle Cats employ approximately 50 local people for summer jobs (Teachers, students, senior citizens, and other benefit from these jobs.)
- $1,000,000.00 The Battle Cats local operation budget is spent almost entirely in the Battle Creek area (This includes transportation, team equipment, stadium and concession supplies, printing, advertising, and more).
- $1,600,000.00 Total direct economic impact on the Battle Creek area.
- $4,000,000.00 Total economic impact (2.5 turnover factor)
Intangibles
- Media coverage brings regional and national attention to our area!
- The only established professional sports franchise in Calhoun County!
- Battle Cats players, staff and mascot are involved in the community!
- Future Major League Stars (Donnie Sadler, Carl Pavano) are here today!
- The Battle Cats provide wholesome, affordable family entertainment!
We’re Part of the Community!
Again, some hints about the team budget amongst the boosterism, though I’d advise you to take this with a grain of salt. Comparing with the 1976 Danville program’s similar blurb, we see that costs about tripled in two decades. Hmmm.