Managing Member of McHenry/Lake Professional Baseball Group, LLC

Mr. Heitman has been involved in Minor League baseball for 25 years. Over that time he has been an owner-operator of three affiliated teams in the Midwest League and three independent teams; two in the Frontier League and, most recently, one in the Northern League. Three of those teams were start-ups, requiring the development of new facilities, two of which were built in suburban areas of Chicago.

Mr. Heitman first got into Minor League baseball in 1981 when his real estate company served as the general contractor in the building of the baseball facility at Warner Park in Madison, Wisconsin. He served as co-founder and managing general partner of the Madison Muskies, the Class-A affiliate of the Oakland A’s in the Midwest League.

In 1989, Mr. Heitman became the founding partner of American Sports Enterprises, Inc., and the company acquired the Wausau (WI.) Timbers, the Class-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners in the Midwest League.

In 1991, ASE Inc. moved the Timbers to Geneva, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. The team was re-named as the “Kane County Cougars�, and Mr. Heitman worked with the Kane County Forest Preserve District (landlord), HOK Sports Facilities Group (architects), and the Baltimore Orioles (new affiliation) in getting the new $4.4 million, 4,200-seat stadium designed and built in time for the 1991 season. The stadium has since been remodeled, with increased seating, and today the Cougars remain one of the top draws in all of Minor League baseball averaging 7,160 fans per game for 2008.

In 1995, Mr. Heitman became co-founder and President of Sports Spectrum, Inc. when the company purchased the Zanesville (OH) Greys, a Frontier League team.

In 1996, Sports Spectrum purchased an expansion franchise in the Frontier League, and operated the team in Canton, Ohio as the Canton Crocodiles. The team won the League title in 1996, playing in the 5,700 seat former AA stadium.

In 1998, Mr. Heitman became co-founder of Schaumburg Professional Baseball and the organization purchased the Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks in the independent Northern League for the purpose of relocating the franchise to suburban Chicago. Mr. Heitman worked with the village of Schaumburg in reviewing and picking the architects for the design of the $16.5 million, 7,000-seat stadium. The team began play in 1999 as the Schaumburg Flyers, and has become a top draw in independent baseball, averaging 4,298 fans per game in the 2008 season.

In 2005, Mr. Heitman teamed up with Mark Houser of Equity One Sports Development, in searching for a McHenry or Lake County community in which to build a multi-purpose stadium for a Professional Independent baseball team and general community use.