Report: Rockford, Joliet to Frontier League
According to the website ballparkdigest.com, the Rockford RiverHawks will be returning to the Frontier League in 2011 and will be bringing the up-for-sale Joliet JackHammers with them.
Rockford and Joliet were two of the four teams remaining in the Northern League earlier this month after half of that league switched to the American Association. The idea of the Northern League continuing as a four-team circuit appears to be dead.
These moves would leave two former Northern teams, the Schaumburg Flyers and Lake County Fielders, without a home.
Rockford's return to the Frontier League would seem easy, considering the RiverHawks spent eight years in the FL before switching to the Northern League for the 2010 season. Joliet's move is more complicated. The JackHammers are up for sale. Joliet City Manager Tom Thanas, who is working on the sale as the lease holder of the ballpark, has been in contact with two potential buyers. Thanas told WJOL Radio there will be a Frontier League team in Joliet next year.
One group that is reportedly interested in buying the Joliet franchise is headed by former Chicago Cubs pitcher Milt Pappas. My guess is whoever buys the team won't pay the JackHammers' debt to the city but will pay off vendors who are owed money. Thus, the Frontier League team in Joliet won't be named the JackHammers.
The chances of Schaumburg and Lake County joining the Frontier League appear to be slim. According to the Chicago Tribune, the Flyers owe the city of Schaumburg more than $903,000 for use of its stadium and tens of thousands more to vendors.
The fate of Lake County remains a mystery. The Fielders, who were a Northern League expansion team last season and are partly owned by actor Kevin Costner, had problems with the construction of their ballpark and began the year as a traveling team. The Fielders are managed by former Frontier League player and manager Fran Riordan.
The report by ballparkdigest.com conflicts a report by Schaumburg TribLocal that quoted Northern League commissioner Clark Griffith as saying "We're not going to be four teams. We’re going to be six or eight."
Rockford and Joliet were two of the four teams remaining in the Northern League earlier this month after half of that league switched to the American Association. The idea of the Northern League continuing as a four-team circuit appears to be dead.
These moves would leave two former Northern teams, the Schaumburg Flyers and Lake County Fielders, without a home.
Rockford's return to the Frontier League would seem easy, considering the RiverHawks spent eight years in the FL before switching to the Northern League for the 2010 season. Joliet's move is more complicated. The JackHammers are up for sale. Joliet City Manager Tom Thanas, who is working on the sale as the lease holder of the ballpark, has been in contact with two potential buyers. Thanas told WJOL Radio there will be a Frontier League team in Joliet next year.
One group that is reportedly interested in buying the Joliet franchise is headed by former Chicago Cubs pitcher Milt Pappas. My guess is whoever buys the team won't pay the JackHammers' debt to the city but will pay off vendors who are owed money. Thus, the Frontier League team in Joliet won't be named the JackHammers.
The chances of Schaumburg and Lake County joining the Frontier League appear to be slim. According to the Chicago Tribune, the Flyers owe the city of Schaumburg more than $903,000 for use of its stadium and tens of thousands more to vendors.
The fate of Lake County remains a mystery. The Fielders, who were a Northern League expansion team last season and are partly owned by actor Kevin Costner, had problems with the construction of their ballpark and began the year as a traveling team. The Fielders are managed by former Frontier League player and manager Fran Riordan.
The report by ballparkdigest.com conflicts a report by Schaumburg TribLocal that quoted Northern League commissioner Clark Griffith as saying "We're not going to be four teams. We’re going to be six or eight."
Labels: Joliet JackHammers, Rockford RiverHawks
posted by Chris Dugan at
9:06 AM
1 Comments:
I didn't even notice the Rockford was gone. Now we will be blessed by having the Jackhammers too.
Life is good!!
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