FRANKLIN, Wis. - Milwaukee baseball head coach Scott Doffek and Milwaukee Athletic Director Amanda Braun were part of Tuesday's press conference unveiling the "Ballpark Commons" project at City Hall in Franklin.
 
Mike Zimmerman, Chief Executive Officer of ROC Ventures, invited the public to a press conference this afternoon announcing the addition of professional baseball to the Franklin area and the mixed-use development called "Ballpark Commons", highlighted by a 4,000-seat stadium.
 
"Dealing with the facilities that we have had to deal with has been a challenge – not an excuse, but a challenge – and I think we have done our best to this point," Doffek said. "We just had to do something at this level to be able to compete. The lifeblood of any program at the Division I level is to recruit and retain student-athletes that can succeed. And it starts with having a facility like this that can showcase that."
 
Doffek and Braun were present to announce the department's partnership with ROC Ventures, one in which the Milwaukee baseball team will play all of its home games at the new stadium.
 
"This project is the missing piece for us and I believe once it is in place, the sky is the limit for Milwaukee Panthers baseball," Braun said. "We wear the Milwaukee on our jersey and we represent this community. We are excited to get down here and start playing next spring."
 
Ground has been broken and the new facility is scheduled to be ready for the 2019 campaign. The Panthers have spent the past 24 seasons with Henry Aaron Field as their home park, putting together an impressive 266-112 (.704) winning percentage in home games in that span.
 
The ballpark in Franklin will also host a new professional baseball team, one set to join the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. The team is yet to be announced, with a "name the team" promotion also unveiled today.