The Packers Really Are Publicly-owned

The Packers Really Are Publicly-owned

• 1.
  The Packers ReallyAre Publicly-owned Craig Schoenfeld
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  Introduction Craig Schoenfeld has20 years of experience as a political operative in Iowa, including working on a successful campaign for President George W. Bush in the 2000 Iowa Caucus. Craig Schoenfeld has established Prairie Lawn Political Consulting, a political strategy and lobbying firm in Clive, Iowa, and three years later he opened an affiliated public affairs firm, CR3Connect, in Des Moines. An enthusiastic participant in outdoor activities like canoeing and camping, he also enjoys such sports as basketball and football, and holds stock in the Green Bay Packers, Inc.
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  The National FootballLeague (NFL) requires that ownership of league teams be held by individuals or small groups like partnerships. The Green Bay Packers, however, are exempt from this rule, having been incorporated as a publicly-owned, not-for-profit corporation in 1923, long before the league’s current ownership rules went into effect. In that year, the Packers, facing bankruptcy, reached out to their host city for financial support and managed to stay afloat by selling shares of stock in the team. In the years since, the team has sold new shares of stock on four occasions: 1935, 1950, 1997, and 2011. NFL rules permit the Packers to raise funds through stock sales only for capital expenses like stadium improvements; the team cannot sell stock to fund salaries or operating expenses. In November 2021 it was announced that the team would offer an additional 300,000 shares at $300 per share through February 2022.
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  Ownership of Packers’stock is unlike ownership of other stocks. Stockholders may attend an annual meeting at the team’s home field in Wisconsin, may vote on the team’s board of directors and executive committee, and may purchase “shareholder- only” merchandise, but there are none of the other traditional benefits of stock ownership. The stock pays no dividends, there’s no market for Packers shares, which do not appreciate in value, and shareholders are not accorded preferential treatment when purchasing tickets. However, no other team’s fans have the privilege of being able to display a certificate attesting to their “ownership” of the team.