Lake County Fielders Ballpark, Coming Soon?

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GBearFan
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Lake County Fielders Ballpark, Coming Soon?

Post by GBearFan » Mon Nov 02, 2009 4:54 pm

The Northern League expansion draft has been completed and as of today (Nov. 2, 2009) the Lake County Fielders website states there are 221 days ‘til opening day. Does anyone out there have any news about the new ballpark in Zion? Has construction started? If so, what is the estimated completion date?

I remember a few years back, another northern Illinois team (Rockford RiverHawks) was promising to open a new stadium at the start of the 2005 season. They held a groundbreaking ceremony on May 1, 2004 but actual construction did not begin until the following fall/winter. Well, due in part to a cold, wet winter, the RiverHawks did not open their new stadium until May 2006 (two years after breaking ground). It was hard to get any news out of the Rockford organization about construction back then.

Now with 200 days and change from the start of the 2010 Northern League season, we have no news about the ballpark in Zion. Lake County Illinois is located NORTH of Chicago on Lake Michigan. Winter in that area is not the most optimum construction time.

YO FIELDERS, PLEASE LET THE FANS KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH THE STADIUM!!!

If any of you Northern League or Lake County fans have news about the status of the the Zion ballpark, please post it here.
THANKS!

8)

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nlfan
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Post by nlfan » Fri Nov 06, 2009 11:20 pm

They had a ground breaking ceremony yesterday Thursday, November 6. Questions about actual construction starting (like you mention with Rockford) have been asked for months. (Fan photos of the event)

Because of the winter construction start there remain some questions if they'll have it ready for their home opener on June 11, 2010. But you'll notice the date is their 21st game of the season. (Fielders 2010 schedule)

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Post by caretaker110 » Thu Jan 28, 2010 6:59 am

I don't think there is any money in place to build this park and do not see the Government paying for it

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Post by ca » Tue Mar 23, 2010 2:46 pm

caretaker 110
put those 2 statements together and imo you'll see why the fielders may never see a game anywhere near lake michigan's sw shore . towns cant afford to put public safety or schools at risk for something that private enterprise wont pony up for in the 1st place . so if no one is making this happen in or maybe near ne ill that really doent say a lot about the market that as far as i'm concerned is overcrowded and the fl mucked up back in 03' in neighboring kenosha . i hope the fielders arent a rd show like gary that has turned out to be one of the poorer draws in the nl

ca
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if the new fielder park ...

Post by ca » Mon Apr 12, 2010 2:04 am

happens the moral of this story will be listen to youre head not bravdo when making educated opinions on what some of these "owners" will do for if they were a coach they couldnt provide bus service for a team

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Post by BCRantzilla » Wed May 12, 2010 10:22 pm

[quote=""ca""]caretaker 110
put those 2 statements together and imo you'll see why the fielders may never see a game anywhere near lake michigan's sw shore . towns cant afford to put public safety or schools at risk for something that private enterprise wont pony up for in the 1st place . so if no one is making this happen in or maybe near ne ill that really doent say a lot about the market that as far as i'm concerned is overcrowded and the fl mucked up back in 03' in neighboring kenosha . i hope the fielders arent a rd show like gary that has turned out to be one of the poorer draws in the nl[/quote]

Which is too bad because after a very rough start to their history the Railcats are arguably one of the best teams in the NL year in and year out now.
And that is all the people need to know!

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MJHankel
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Post by MJHankel » Wed May 12, 2010 11:07 pm

Hey now, the RailCats were second to last in the Northern League for attendence last year. But consider what that is saying, they were second to last in a league that has teams with the top attendence numbers in all indy ball. Also Gary has better attendence numbers than most of the teams in the AA, Can-Am, GBL, Frontier and Atlantic league. Just sayin. I believe the should have better numbers, but you gotta keep it in perspective.

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Post by ca » Wed May 19, 2010 1:20 am

why cant the fielders have a turf field instead of waiting on a sod field to take hold at their new park ?
Last edited by ca on Wed May 19, 2010 1:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by JAKMAN » Sat Jun 05, 2010 3:42 pm

Statement from Fielders:

Zion, IL. The long-awaited arrival of the Lake County Fielders minor league baseball team is drawing near. The Fielders Stadium in Zion, IL will be ready to host Fielders games on Friday, July 2ndat Green Bay Road and Route 173. The July 2nd game will feature post-game live entertainment and fireworks.

All 15 Fielders home games currently scheduled in June will be played at the Carthage College baseball stadium in nearby Kenosha, WI. Single game tickets for June 11-June 30 games will cost five dollars for adults and will be free of charge to children 12 and under.

Ticketholders who purchased full season tickets for 2010 will receive tickets to all 15 Fielders games at Carthage College and a reserved padded bleacher seat season ticket at the 2010 Zion stadium for all 35 games. The Fielders will also give season ticketholders a free 2010 Northern League Season Pass that will admit them to any Northern League game at any location throughout the League free of charge for the 2010 season. 2010 season ticketholders will additionally receive a pre-selected ticket seat location for 2011.

Customers who purchased single game tickets to a June home game in Zion are able to use that ticket to attend that corresponding game date at Carthage College. They will also receive a voucher for any two additional 2010 Fielders games, along with a voucher for any two additional 2011 Fielders games.

Additional information on ticket policies for those games may be found at fieldersbaseball.com or by calling the Fielders’ ticket office at 847-731-8000.

The Fielders, co-owned by Academy Award winner and baseball enthusiast Kevin Costner, are a member of The Northern League, which plays a 100-game schedule from mid-May through early September.

-30-

Yeah, another Costner bomb. Go figure.

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Post by Ken, Steelheads fan » Sat Jun 05, 2010 4:19 pm

[quote=""ca""]caretaker 110
put those 2 statements together and imo you'll see why the fielders may never see a game anywhere near lake michigan's sw shore . towns cant afford to put public safety or schools at risk for something that private enterprise wont pony up for in the 1st place . so if no one is making this happen in or maybe near ne ill that really doent say a lot about the market that as far as i'm concerned is overcrowded and the fl mucked up back in 03' in neighboring kenosha . i hope the fielders arent a rd show like gary that has turned out to be one of the poorer draws in the nl[/quote]

MJ is right. The Northern League has the highest average attendance of all independent baseball leagues. That poorer draw in Gary is an average of 3600 fans over 48 home dates (50 dates now). Most minor league baseball franchises can only dream of putting up numbers that high.

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