Brockton is rocked as its ballclub founders

“You could call it the Cheers of baseball stadiums,’’ said Dave Lekberg, a 64-year-old Rox fan as he unwound yesterday afternoon at a Rox-friendly sports bar on Main Street. “You know you’re going to run into people you know. Believe me, I’ve had some good times there. Losing it, that would be a sin.’’

But the team is in serious financial trouble, behind on bills and mired in $500,000 of debt, team and city officials said. Earlier this month, the team was unable to make its monthly lease payment to the city of $30,000, and some fear that the economic downturn that has ravaged this working-class city may now rob it of its baseball team.

It would be a cruel blow for the City of Champions, where sports reign supreme and many savored the chance to see a live game for as little as $5. Dogged by slumping attendance and advertising over the past two years, the Rox front office is restructuring its entire operation and scrambling to attract new investors in a desperate effort to stay afloat. While management is confident it can return to profitability, some fans and city officials fear the team may have played its last game.

“I’m worried and concerned,’’ said Mayor James Harrington. “But we certainly want them to be successful, and we’re going to do everything we can.’’

With a combination of public and private money, the city built the $18 million stadium and adjoining conference center in 2002, and the Rox immediately drew a strong following for its relaxed yet energetic brand of baseball.

Lekberg recalls taking a bus to Elmira, N.Y., with some 50 other fans to see the first Rox game, and the team, a playoff contender this year, remains a rallying point and source of deep local pride.

“There’s a real connection there,’’ said Raymond Allen, a 59-year-old out-of-work health educator who takes in a few games a year. “They’re our team, and it would be a shame to lose them.’’

For several years, the team was profitable, setting a league attendance record in 2004 and consistently selling out the nearly 5,000-seat stadium.

Advertisements from banks, mortgage companies, and real estate firms filled the outfield wall, and businessmen and birthday celebrants packed into luxury boxes.

But while revenue rose, expenses rose faster, and owners soon faced a steep operating deficit. Then, the economy tanked, and so did demand for ad space and luxury boxes. The past two rain-plagued summers did not help, and attendance dropped by nearly 15 percent, to about 2,600 per game.

“When families have $75 tickets to Fenway, they’re willing to sit through some rain,’’ Jack Yunits, team president and the city’s former mayor, said yesterday at the park, where the outfield wall now featured ads from taxi outfits and plumbers. “Here they’re not.’’

It rained during 18 of the first 24 games of the season, which ran from Memorial Day to Labor Day, Yunits said. At the same time, the conference center’s vacancy rates spiked. Without a financial buffer to cushion the blow, the team was soon deep in arrears.

“Rain and the recession,’’ he said glumly. “That’s a bad combination for a minor league baseball team.’’

Yunits said he is studying the team’s financial structure with an eye toward supplementing gate and concession receipts with concerts, corporate outings, and other events.

“We need to change our marketing,’’ he said, adding that several people could lose their jobs in the restructuring. He is also reaching out to new investors in hope of balancing the team’s books.

The team has had other financial setbacks - a former executive was accused in 2006 of taking $23,000 in concession proceeds - but nothing like this. Despite the team’s fiscal woes, which were first reported in the Brockton Enterprise, Yunits remains tentatively optimistic.

“This is one of the nicest fields in New England,’’ he said. “We’ll have baseball here next spring. We’ve got a huge challenge, but it’s not dire.’’

The team has a number of owners, including actor Bill Murray, though some have dropped out in recent years. The team leases the city-owned park for $250,000 a year.

Many city officials say that while they are worried about the team’s financial standing, they will be patient with ownership in hope of turning things around.

“It’s a terrific asset for the city, and we will do anything we can to keep them,’’ said Donald Walsh, president of 21st Century Corp., the city’s economic development agency, which manages the stadium.

Councilor Dennis Eaniri said he believes the city can restructure its lease with the team to give it some flexibility.

“They are like any type of business these days, just trying to keep it together,’’ he said. “But I think they’ll get over this hurdle.’’

Eaniri is a fan, too, and said it would be a shame if the Rox and its folksy charms were no more. Players sign autographs for anyone who asks, chat over the dugout roof with fans in the front row during the game, and sometimes come through the stands afterward to thank them for coming.

“It’s always been such a great venue, very family-friendly,’’ Eaniri said. “People just love it.’’

Many fans had not heard that the team has fallen on hard times, and were crestfallen by the thought of losing their team.

On Route 123, a woman in a “Rox Rock’’ T-shirt said she didn’t even want to think about it. She would just assume that when June arrived, so would the Rox.

“That’s awful,’’ she said. “Just awful.’’

Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com.