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There are still a few teams in the class A Midwest League which are owned by a community group. I believe Beloit, Burlington and Clinton are all in this category. The class AA Arkansas Travelers of the Texas League are also a citizen/shareholder group. In the 50's - 70's there were several of these ownerships. It was a predominant strategy in the Midwest League.... but those were the days when a group of folks could put together a few thousand dollars to own the team and then, if there were losses, they were minimal, and everyone would meet at the end of the season to put up the money to cover losses. If there were profits, they would usually also be minimal and those monies would be left in the operating account to cover off-season operating expenses or, if possible, some sort of stadium improvement, etc. These groups were often set up as non-profits which allowed the city or government entity which usually owned the stadium to provide the ballpark at little or no rent (often just $1 per year) and also provide services such as field maintnenace through the parks department, city utilities, etc. Because the owners were local folks who were really taking nothing from the team (most of them even paid for their season tickets!), there was no public backlash about providing the stadium rent free, etc. Of course, the stadia were pretty basic in those days.... as is STILL the case in places like Beloit, Clinton and Burlington. The Travelers just got a new stadium last year after playing for decades in old Ray Winder Field. JPD