One of the most successful franchises in all of Minor League Baseball just got a new boss.
28-year-old Stefanie Brown was officially named the new General Manager of the Cardinals-affiliated Quad Cities River Bandits (Class A Midwest League) at a press conference earlier today, officially making her the youngest GM in all of Minor League Baseball. Brown (disclaimer: she’s an old friend of mine from my days in the Quad Cities), takes over for Kirk Goodman, who transformed a once-moribund franchise with a goofy name, the Swing of the Quad Cities (no, really), into one of the most successsful brands in all of minor league baseball.
Per Ballpark Digest:
“Under Goodman, team attendance and revenues soared, concessions were overhauled whenProfessional Sports Catering was brought in, upgrades to the ballpark were made annually, and a slew of imaginative promotions (Tattoo Night, a great Midwest League All-Star Game) were implemented.”
I was a news reporter for the NBC affiliate in the Quad Cities when Goodman took over and rebranded the franchise. What he did with that team during his three years in charge is nothing short of amazing. Goodman was able to come up with a way of holding games when the Mississippi River came up over its banks, completely surrounding Modern Woodmen Park on all sides. Not many GMs would have the initiative or the desire to try and play when the area surrounding the ballpark looks like this:
You can see the sandbag wall surrounding the park and on the far left hand side a wooden temporary bridge that lead fans from the parking lot to the stadium’s gates. Quite a sight to say the least.
The 2008 flood games weren’t his greatest accomplishment though. Goodman made Modern Woodmen Park a destination, helping turn the River Bandits into a summer staple for Quad Citians by improving customer service and coming up with innovative promotions designed to give fans greater bang for their buck. This season, he also took on responsibility of the Mariners’ Class-A High Desert (CA) Mavericks, hoping to replicate the same success with them that he had with the Bandits.
Other changes that took place under his watch include a LED ribbon scoreboard in the outfield, corn in left field that the team would walk out of prior to every game, and a tiki bar. Goodman also helped reverse a team whose reputation was in decline folllowing years of sagging interest and a wildly unpopular name change from River Bandits to Swing of the Quad Cities in the early 2000s. It’s hard to describe the change in atmosphere around Modern Woodmen Park from 2007 to 2008, something that has continued to improve each year.
Brown is about as qualified to take over for him as anyone. Since starting in 2008 as the team’s Community Relations Manager, she was later promoted to Goodman’s second-in-command as the Assistant General Manager, taking on increasing levels of responsibility along the way and proving herself at every turn. Fans and colleagues alike have raved about her ability to lead a staff and think outside the box to give fans a better ballpark experience. Per the team’s release, Goodman will spend the next two months transitioning her into the role before officially leaving the organization in early December.
