A new independent American Association ballpark is being pitched for Rosemont (Ill.), with a potential price tag between $50 million and $60 million, under a proposal from Mayor Brad Stephens.
The ballpark would seat between 7,000 and 8,000 and be located west of the Tri-State Tollway and north of Balmoral Road in the Chicago suburb. There is a potential owner for a team in the American Association, which to date has had a minimal presence in Chicagoland. The closest team is in Gary, while there are independent Frontier League teams in Schaumburg, Crestwood and Joliet, with the affiliated Kane County Cougars (Low A; Midwest League) playing out of Geneva’s Fifth Third Bank Ballpark.
The city is looking at picking up the entire tab for the ballpark, which would open in 2018. Snow Kreilich Architects, part of the design team for CHS Field, has done preliminary work on the project. From the Daily Herald:
The facility would be one of three venues in a village sports campus. It’s proposed to be built directly south of the 2,000-seat Rosemont Stadium, home of the Chicago Bandits women’s softball team. And next to that is the Rosemont Dome, a 140,000-square-foot indoor baseball and softball facility where crews are now putting up a new roof, after the old one was ripped off in a storm last month.
Stephens said he believes there’s a good opportunity to bring minor league baseball to Rosemont, since there’s been record-setting attendance figures for the nearby Schaumburg Boomers and Kane County Cougars, who play in other minor leagues.
The site is not only near other Rosemont sports venues, but it’s directly across the tollway from the village’s 200,000-square-foot entertainment district.
Also part of the project: A 1,500-spot parking deck.
This is still in the big-picture phase: there’s no financial plan yet, and nothing close to final approval from any city governmental body.