The Joliet JackHammers almost salted the territory after failing to pay bills the past few seasons, but the Joliet Slammers (independent; Frontier League) are working hard to regain community trust — and succeeding. The JackHammers folded after owing $400,000 to vendors and $200,000 to the city for rent at Silver Cross Field — a deficit […]
Tag Archives | normal cornbelters
Champaign to study ballpark issues
Elected officials in Champaign are forming a committee to study potential ballpark and baseball funding issue in the Illinois city, and indications are that they’d be looking at an affiliated team after exploring indy ball in the past. Mayor Don Gerard says he’ll appoint an exploratory committee to look at baseball and ballpark-financing issues, including […]
Captains extend WELW broadcast deal; Halbleib new Voice of CornBelters
Two broadcasting deals to announce today: The Lake County Captains (Low Class A; Midwest League) extend their arrangement with flagship radio home AM 1330 WELW, while the Normal CornBelters (independent; Frontier League) move Greg Halbleib into the broadcast booth. The WELW agreement runs for three years. The station will air all regular and post-season Captains […]
Normal to host 2012 Frontier League All-Star Game
Plan ahead: The Normal CornBelters are hosting the 2012 Frontier League All-Star Game at the Corn Crib on July 11, 2012. Frontier League Commissioner Bill Lee made the All-Star Game bid to Mayor Chris Koos at the Town of Normal Council Meeting tonight at City Hall. “The Frontier League is extremely pleased to have the […]
The next big thing: Artificial turf
Forget about the old days of AstroTurf, the artificial turf with practically no padding, the stuff that killed careers — or certainly impacted them, as Andre Dawson can attest. Today’s artificial turf is making a resurgence in indy and college ballparks, as the product has improved significantly in recent years. It wasn’t that long ago […]
The Week That Was: October 24
Here are the top stories of the past week on Ballpark Digest, as measured by page views. Readers were interested in a visit to the Corn Crib, the scheduled 2011 improvements to Fenway Park, and first looks at proposed new ballparks in St. Paul and Orlando. The Corn Crib / Normal CornBelters Red Sox outline […]
The Corn Crib / Normal Cornbelters
It is the corniest ballpark in the independent leagues — which is saying a whole lot. While the Frontier League‘s Normal CornBelters made waves in America’s Heartland because of the team’s unusual marketing strategies and product placement, the real story is how team ownership and ballpark architects managed to create a mid-range ballpark on an […]