Rosemont unveils plans for new minor league baseball stadium

ROSEMONT, Ill. (WLS) -- The minor league baseball teams in and around the Chicago area will face some new competition after northwest suburban Rosemont unveiled plans Wednesday to build a new stadium in the village.

It is nothing but an empty field right now, vacant land between I-294 and O'Hare International Airport. But that will soon change; by the end of September crews will start moving dirt to begin construction of a new 6,300-seat baseball stadium.

Renderings of the park show it complete with six skyboxes and a 12-car parking deck. Rosemont mayor Brad Stephens unveiled the plans to community leaders this afternoon. He said they got the idea after Rosemont made an unsuccessful bid to lure the Cubs to leave Chicago a couple years ago.

"We started thinking that affordable family fun baseball where all the people is something that may take off," Stephens said.

Stephens said the new stadium will be available for year-round use, and will also help draw fans to Rosemont's busy entertainment district. Across the street there are also plans for a boutique hotel, two restaurants and a Dave & Busters.

The team's managing partner, Shawn Hunter, said he is not out to compete with the Cubs or the White Sox.

"We're very confident that we can build a major league entertainment opportunity but at family prices," Hunter said.

And even though there are at least four other minor league teams within a 60 mile radius of Chicago, Rosemont officials said there are enough fans to go around. The new team will play in the independent league and will not be affiliated with a major league team.

"Everybody's got their own following, I know we're going to work very hard to attract new fans and make sure that they become loyal fans," Stephens said.

When complete the stadium will be visible from the highway. The village plans to open the gates for opening day in May of 2018.