Zion catches baseball fever as ground broken for new ballpark

There was ice cold beer, red hots, lemonade and a six-piece band playing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."

The calendar says November, but it felt like spring as hundreds of people gathered to break ground on a new baseball stadium in Zion.

Dirt was ceremonially shoveled on the site of the new Lake County Fielders baseball field Thursday afternoon. About 500 people, including officials from Lake County, Zion and Fielders executives, sipped pop, ate chicken wings and dreamed of a hometown winner.

With obvious bravado, Northern League Commissioner Clark Griffith opened his remarks with a bold prophesy that drew cheers from the crowd.

"I guarantee the Lake County Fielders will win the pennant!" he shouted into a scratchy microphone. "I can't wait for autumn when the Fielders win the championship."

The $17 million stadium will be built on the northwest corner of Green Bay Road and Ninth Street in the Trumpet Park business park. It has an 8,000 person capacity, but only 4,000 seats. Half the spectators will view the action from party areas and decks. The park will also feature water slides, a hot tub and an all-you-can-eat area.

Zion's economic development director, J. Delaine Rogers, said the money for the structure will come from both public and private sources. She said figures aren't final, but the cost will be split between Zion, state government and private investors. Zion will take out a loan, but Rogers said profits from the enterprise will be used to make the payments.

"Zion owns the land and the Fielders are our tenants," she said. "Money will come from sales and entertainment taxes, parking fees and private investors paying for naming rights. This is self-funding loan." It's not clear yet how much the city will need to borrow, she said.

Rogers said having a minor league team in town will bring economic benefits beyond the park.

"We have Culvers restaurant and a number of other businesses that either have or are considering opening nearby."

Deerfield-based Grand Slam Sports & Entertainment, owns the baseball team. Rich Ehrenreich is the company's managing partner and team president. Actor Kevin Costner is part owner of the ballclub.

Lake County's team will be part of the independent Northern League. Ehrenreich also owns the Northern League's Schaumburg Flyers.

The Fielders will play a 100-game schedule, with opening day set for June 11.

State Rep. JoAnn Osmond said she's thrilled to see the dream become real.

"This is something that we started talking about three years ago and it's finally becoming a reality," Osmond said. "I'm a die-hard Cubs fan, but I want to be a die-hard Fielders fan.