The Sports Report

Kremer: Fate of Slammers Hangs on Quality of Experience

Watch: CEO Josh Schaub, GM Chris Franklin, Frontier League commissioner Bill Lee and Joliet city manager Tom Thanas talk Slammers baseball and downtown revitalization in a Patch video.

Whether the new Joliet Slammers ownership team is more successful than the old remains to be seen. What I learned during Tuesday’s media day shindig in the Hall of Fame Room at Silver Cross Field is CEO Josh Schaub is going to step up to the plate ready to swing at almost any pitch. Schaub promised to hire a new manager that he hopes one day will become the face of the Slammers’ baseball team, if not the entire organization. An announcement on the hire could come before Christmas. He also promised to make Silver Cross Field an entertainment destination site and that means you can expect to see a variety of different shows on the field, the list ranging from concerts to weddings. Yes, very soon you will be able to tie the knot at home plate…

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City OKs Silver Cross Field Lease for New Slammers Owners; Sale Near Complete

Joliet Community Baseball and Entertainment LLC needs only Frontier League approval for the deal to be finalized.

The Joliet City Council approved leasing Silver Cross Field to the prospective new owners of the Joliet Slammers Monday, leaving just the authorization of the Frontier League for the team's sale to be complete. That OK is expected in the next week, giving the Joliet Community Baseball and Entertainment LLC the ability to start preparing for the next minor league season, which begins less than eight months from now. Josh Schaub, a spokesman for the investor group of which he is a member, assured the council that the group has deep enough pockets to spend what's needed to rebuild the Joliet baseball audience, which has dropped off significantly in the last few years. "We don't want this to fail," said Schaub, a Minneapolis lawyer who works …

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City Drops Slammers Lease Price to $50,000

The proposed deal, which also calls for a head tax should the team pass certain attendance number, goes to the Joliet City Council Monday.

The new owners of the Joliet Slammers will be paying a third of what the previous owners paid to lease Silver Cross Field for the next two years. Under the terms of a proposed lease that will go to the Joliet City Council Monday, it's proposed that Joliet Community Baseball and Entertainment LLC pay $50,000 for use of the field in 2013 and 2014 and $75,000 for the three years that follow. However, should the group of investors -- which includes Jim Haller, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers for seven years and pitching coach for the minor league Lincoln (Neb.) Salt Dogs -- fill more than 105,000 seats in any of the first three years, they will pay an additional head tax to the city. That threshhold gets lower in the last two years, when…

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Slammers Game Plan Laid Out to City Council

The Minneapolis-based group that wants to buy the team says more emphasis on entertainment, attendance the ticket to success; council gives tentative lease approval.

The Minneapolis-based business group negotiating to buy the Joliet Slammers told the Joliet City Council Monday that their goal is to make Silver Cross Field a family-centered food and entertainment destination. That means bringing people to the minor league park early with all-you-can-eat deals and other lures; coming up with a concessions menu that's cheaper and more Joliet-centric; scheduling concerts, soccer, lacrosse and other events when baseball's not being played; and keeping the team in the public eye in the off-season, group spokesman Josh Schaub said. But they won't be reinventing the wheel. The Slammers name and logo will remain, and the team will continue to be part of the Frontier League, said Schaub, a sports law attorney …

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Slammers Sale Imminent, but Hinges on City OK

Joliet City Manager Tom Thanas said it's possible a deal with the new owners to lease Silver Cross Field could go to the council Monday.

A deal that would ensure there's minor league baseball at Silver Cross Field next summer could be approved as soon as Monday by the Joliet City Council. The prospective buyers of the Joliet Slammers, the Frontier League team that's played in the city-owned ball park for the last two years, are in the wings as terms for a new lease for the downtown Joliet stadium are negotiated, City Manager Tom Thanas said. If all goes according to plan, a meeting of the council's baseball committee will be convened Monday to allow the owners to discuss their plan, and the full council could review and even approve the contract that afternoon, Thanas said. It's a quick turnaround, yes, but a necessary one if the new owners are to have everything in place…

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Family Fun Fest at Silver Cross Field Saturday

The event is free for those 15 and younger and $2 for everyone else.

The 3rd Annual Joliet Family Fun Fest will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Silver Cross Field. Touch-a-truck vehicles from police and fire departments and military vehicles will be on hand. Inflatable bouncies will be available for the kids. Attendees can go on hayrides or a scavenger hunt, watch the Jessie White Tumblers, shoot hoops with former NBA Player Kenny Battle and meet costumed Star Wars characters. There will also be games for all ages, a live band, food and beverages, a  scavenger hunt and give-a-ways. The fest is sponsored by the Joliet Park District, the Joliet Slammers, Jody's Hot Dogs and Grant's Appliances. DON'T MISS THE LATEST JOLIET NEWS. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER FOR A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TAKE, …

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Joliet Slammers in Talks with Interested Buyers

The baseball team has been playing in Joliet for two years, but has yet to make a profit, the owner said in a published report.

The owner of the Joliet Slammers says he's talking to at least two groups who are interested in buying the minor league baseball team. Alan Oremus described the suitors as "passionate" and "excited" about the possibilities of team ownership, according to a story in the Joliet Herald-News. Oremus has owned the Frontier League team for two years, but despite having won the league championship in 2011, the Slammers have not yet turned a profit, he told the paper. Several employees have been laid off in the last few weeks in an attempt to curb expenses, he said. The Slammers succeeded the Joliet JackHammers, which had been the first minor league team to play in Joliet's Silver Cross Field. DON'T MISS THE LATEST JOLIET NEWS. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR …

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