Cash-Strapped Newark Bears To Hold Liquidation Sale, Auction
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Newark Bears are down for the count. And now everything is for sale -- maybe even the kitchen sink.
The Bears have announced they will hold a liquidation sale and auction on April 26, just five months after the independent Can-Am League said the cash-strapped baseball team wouldn't be returning in 2014.
The Bears tweeted at the time that they were in the process of "creating a stronger" organization, and insisted Can-Am's decision wasn't a reflection of their "status/livelihood." But the New York Post painted a bleak picture of the Bears' finances on its website Wednesday night, reporting the franchise was losing around $400,000 annually and only averaging 453 fans per game, well below the 2,000 needed to stay out of the red.
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Items up for auction include naming rights and the team's logo, website and social media properties. A 56-passenger bus, other vehicles and a "John Deere lawn and turf equipment package" will also be available to the highest bidder, the team said.
The liquidation sale includes kitchen equipment, furniture, uniforms, team merchandise, memorabilia, baseball equipment, landscaping equipment and more.
The current version of the Bears was founded in 1998. Newark's 6,200-seat Riverfront Stadium opened the following season.
"While this is a setback for the Bears, the City of Newark, and the region as a whole, we believe that this is not the end for the Bears or their stadium," Newark Mayor Luis Quintana said in a statement, according to NJ.com. "We will work with the county, our partners in the business and sports' communities, and local colleges and universities to make full use of Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium."
The Bears are asking interested buyers to RSVP for the sale to be held at the stadium on Broad Street.
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