Faced with a mid-September deadline to make plans for 2019, the Joliet Slammers (independent; Frontier League) are calling on the city to finalize a lease by the end of August.
The Slammers are currently playing at Joliet Route 66 Stadium on a one-year lease agreement with the City of Joliet. That agreement is due to expire on September 30, and the Slammers are pushing for the city to enter into negotiations and approve a lease in a timely fashion.
According to the team, it must inform the Frontier League by mid-September as to whether it will field a club for the 2019 season. A lease agreement will need to be finalized before the Slammers move forward with plans for next season, and this week an attorney representing the club called on the city to approve a lease by the end of August. Discussions will have take place before an agreement can be secured, but city officials indicated that they have been planning to renew with the Slammers. More from The Herald-News:
“We have obligations in the league to let them know that we will field a team by mid-September,” [Slammers’ attorney Michael] Hansen said. “Time is of the essence.”
Hansen added, “We have to get down and get this done by August from our point of view.”
City Manager David Hales said the city will present the Slammers with a “brief bullet list” of proposed changes in the lease, perhaps by sometime next week.
Council member Michael Turk, a member of the Stadium Committee who has been asking the staff for status updates on lease negotiations, said he believes the plan is to renew with the Slammers.
The Slammers and the city agreed to their current one-year lease last year, and the team is hoping that negotiations for a renewal will result in a longer commitment. The team also manages Joliet Route 66 Stadium, and wants to continue serving that role as well.