Minor league team, stadium coming to McHenry County

It's batter up for minor league baseball in McHenry County.

Backers of a three-year effort to bring an independent-league team to the county announced plans Wednesday to build a multiuse facility in Woodstock that would host the team and dozens of other sports and entertainment events as early as spring 2010.

Private donations and investors would fund the entire project, which supporters believe will pump as much as $5 million annually into the local economy, supporters said.

"This facility will not only enhance the quality of life for all of McHenry County, but will provide a positive economic impact for the entire area as well," said Peter Heitman, managing partner of the team's would-be owners, McHenry/Lake Professional Baseball Group LLC.

The site proposed Wednesday is a 250-acre parcel along Route 14 on the eastern edge of Woodstock, just across from Centegra Memorial Medical Center. The development plan calls for construction of a multiuse venue that would host not only 50 minor league baseball games a year, but also youth, high school and college sporting events as well as concerts, festivals and trade shows.

The venue would hold 6,500 for field events and 10,000 for events open to lawn seating.

Long-range plans include the possibility of developing the site as future home for the McHenry County Fair, a fire museum and an exhibition hall.

Proponents of bringing minor league baseball to the county initially hoped to land a team at McHenry County College as part of expansion plans there. But when those plans faltered, they joined forces with the McHenry County Community Foundation to find a more suitable location and create a design for the facility.

Foundation officials said the design will take into account "smart growth" principles and preserve about 75 acres of wetlands and oak savannah on the property.

"This approach supports smart land use, economic resource planning, wise budget practices and would provide numerous resources with the many benefits of tourism," said Mark Ehlert, chairman of the foundation board.

The minor league team that would play there would be a member of the Frontier League, an independent league that currently has 12 teams in seven Midwestern and Eastern cities, including Rockford and south suburban Crestwood.