New 'Field of Dreams' sprouting in Zion

The first scheduled pitch is still seven months away, but the Chicago area's latest baseball team broke ground last week on its new stadium in far north suburban Zion.

Northern League Commissioner Clark Griffith declared that the Lake County Fielders would win a championship in the near future, drawing cheers from hundreds of dignitaries and fans who attended the kickoff ceremony.

There is still much work to be done before "Play ball!" can be called by an umpire in Zion.

"There are still plenty of deadlines which need to be met," Zion Mayor Lane Harrison said. "Some we can control, some we cannot, such as the winter weather."

The City of Zion appears to have more control of the Fielders than first presented, as the city could eventually own the stadium outright.

"Right now, the best way to put it is that the stadium is in a metamorphosis state right now," Harrison said. "How much the City of Zion is going to actually own is a fluid situation depending on outside financing, which is always changing. But no Zion taxpayers' dollars are going to be used to build it."

Harrison and the Fielders are counting on corporate sponsorships and possibly state funds to help pay for construction of the 8,000-seat stadium, which is expected to cost $17 million.

Financing, building permits and other planning problems have delayed the stadium's construction, according to Fielders president Rich Ehrenreich. But Ehrenreich and other members of the Fielders' management team say the stadium will be ready for the home opener June 11.

Part of an independent league not affiliated with Major League Baseball, the Fielders will play road games for the first three weeks of the season -- "just in case there are some things which need to be completed in the stadium construction," said Fielders general manager Ben Burke.

Actor Kevin Costner, who starred in the baseball film "Field of Dreams,'' is one of the investors in the team.

Other area teams in the Northern League are the Joliet Jackhammers, the Schaumburg Flyers and the Gary SouthShore RailCats. The 100-game schedule runs through Labor Day.

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