By Madhu Mayer
The Joliet Slammers made the pitch, and the City Council has turned it into a home run.
The Joliet City Council Tuesday approved a lease that will keep the independent baseball team in Joliet until 2028. The current lease was set to expire in 2023.
The lease approved was longer than the traditional three-year term the council approved in the past. The lease states that the rent will increase from the current $75,000 to $90,000 in 2023. In 2026, the rent will be increased to $105,000.
The agreement also mentioned that the council will have final approval to naming rights to the stadium. But only the Slammers have the power to sell the naming rights, if it is not associated with any tobacco, alcohol, drugs, or adult-oriented businesses, according to the agreement.
To keep the process competitive, the Slammers asked for negotiations to the naming rights to be kept private and to not disclose the amount paid by the naming rights sponsor, a request the council granted.
Councilman Larry Hug was the only member to vote against the new lease, citing not having information on the cost-revenue analysis prior to the meeting. The other six on the City Council present at Tuesday’s meeting approved the request. Councilwoman Bettye Gavin was absent from Tuesday evening’s meeting. Hug also voted against a five-year lease with the Joliet Slammers in September 2018, saying the Slammers do not bring guaranteed revenue to the City of Joliet like other teams.
The baseball team, based in Joliet is part of the independent Frontier League and play their home games at Duly Health Care Field. The Slammers replaced the Joliet JackHammers of the Northern League after the franchise was crippled by numerous financial issues.
The JackHammers franchise was put up for sale and Steel City Baseball, LLC, bought out all assets, including the front office, the ticketing system, and the lease of the ballpark. The name Slammers refer to the famous prisons of Joliet and Will County.
