Gateway Professional Baseball Hires Jeff Jurgella As Team President

Gateway Professional Baseball announced today that Jeff Jurgella has been hired as the company’s president, overseeing Beloit Baseball and the new riverbend stadium in downtown Beloit. Jurgella, currently a resident of Madison, WI., brings over 25 years of sports business experience in the Upper Midwest to Beloit.

“We are thrilled to announce Jeff as the president of Gateway Professional Baseball,” said owner Quint Studer. “We performed an exhaustive nationwide search through the acclaimed sports talent search firm Marquee and we’re very excited not just to have found a local leader for our team, but to have found the best candidate. Jeff brings 25 years of experience from the highest levels of sports business to Beloit and shares our vision of using the new downtown stadium year-round to help improve the quality of life for all in our community.”

“I’m excited to join Gateway Professional Baseball as Beloit Baseball enters a new era,” Jurgella said. “We will work hard to ensure that the Stateline Region enjoys a first-class experience at the ballpark while looking for new ways to positively impact the community outside of the game. It’s a privilege to join a culture that will put a significant emphasis on improving the quality of life of in our community well beyond the walls of the field.”

“The response we received from interested candidates about the opening was even stronger than we expected,” Jeff Yocom, president of Marquee Search, said. “We conducted a national search, and once potential candidates learned about the caliber of opportunity and ownership’s commitment to the community, their interest skyrocketed. The hiring team chose from a very large and strong group of candidates and ultimately landed on a Wisconsin son that we’re excited to follow as he leads the organization into 2021 and beyond.”

Jurgella has spent the entirety of his career in sports in Wisconsin and Minnesota. He joins Gateway Professional Baseball from Legendary Way Marketing in Madison where he served as the company’s Vice President, overseeing sponsorships for the PGA Tour’s American Family Insurance Championship.

Prior to his work at Legendary Way Marketing, Jurgella spent 12 years in the front office of the Minnesota Twins, holding a variety of high-level positions including Senior Director of Corporate Partnerships, Corporate Sales Manager, Assistant Director of Minor Leagues and Scouting, Stadium Operations Manager, and Game Production Manager.

“This is a great day for Gateway Professional Baseball and the greater Beloit community,” Minnesota Twins president & CEO Dave St. Peter said. “Jeff Jurgella is a proven leader with an impressive array of professional baseball, sports and entertainment experience. Most importantly, Jeff’s character and commitment to relationship building will serve the Beloit franchise and community well. The future of baseball in Beloit just got even brighter.”

Jurgella’s resume also includes six years of experience as General Manager of Badger Sports Properties (Learfield) working with the University of Wisconsin Athletics Department and eight years of experience at Fox Sports North/Fox Sports Wisconsin as Senior Account Executive.

The Wausau, WI. native began his career with the Midwest League’s Madison Muskies after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He later earned a graduate degree from the University of Minnesota. In addition to his professional experience, Jurgella currently teaches Sports Marketing as an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and previously taught at the University of Minnesota.

“In his career, Jeff has held leadership roles touching all facets of a baseball team,” Studer said. “From sponsorships and marketing, to stadium operations, to fan experience and game production, to scouting and directing a farm system, he’s truly done it all and done it all well. His wealth of experience and ability as a teacher will be tremendous for our team and our staff.”

The hiring of Jurgella as president continues a busy off-season for Beloit Baseball. In December, Beloit was officially invited to join the Miami Marlins organization as their Advanced-A affiliate, receiving a promotion to a higher level of the Minor Leagues after 38 years as a Class-A affiliate. Construction continues in downtown Beloit on the future ABC Supply Stadium, a year-round multi-use community facility scheduled to open this summer that will host the team and a variety of events.