Part of the fun of going to minor league games, and for me, the baseball games, is the chance to visit the various stadiums.  You would be surprised at how professional and fun the minor league baseball stadiums are.  Just because this is the minor leagues, does not mean you will have less of an experience than you would at a Wrigley Field or a U.S. Cellular Field.  In fact, you will probably have an easier time parking and spend less on parking than you would at either of those stadiums.

Alexian Field

The home of the Schaumburg Flyers is right next door to the Schaumburg Airport, which is what helped give them team its name.  The stadium is located less than a block from the Schaumburg Metra train station and shares its parking lot.  There is another game-day parking lot across the street from the stadium and it is free to park there.  The stadium is on Springinsguth Road, just off of the Elgin-O’Hare Expressway.

The stadium is modeled after Wrigley Field, as the original owner was (probably still is) a huge Cubs fan.  The dimensions of the field, including the distances to the wall, are identical.  The bullpens are right on the field, just outside of the dugouts, just like at Wrigley.  The scoreboard in the outfield is manually operated just like at Wrigley only at Alexian it is always manned by a girl.  There are bleacher seats in left field, just like Wrigley and the seats are colored green like at Wrigley although they are molded plastic at Alexian.  The stadium even faces the same way as Wrigley.

This is all well and good if you are a Cubs fan.  I am not, however, and yet I still greatly enjoy going to Alexian Field.  The access to easy in and out parking plays a big part in that.  The stadium is also laid out perfectly, without a bad seat anywhere. 

There are lawn seats on sloping hills I both along the third base and first base sides.  These are great seats for catching foul balls and even getting the autographs of pitchers.  The bleacher seats are also fun and put you right in the outfield.

The Schaumburg Club is a restaurant and grill located on the second level of the stadium.  Anyone with a ticket can get into the restaurant and then sit at one of the many tables near a window overlooking the field and enjoy food of all kinds on a surprisingly diverse menu. 

The seats are very comfortable.  As I said, I have sat nearly everywhere and every angle at this stadium and I have yet to have a bad seat.  You can easily see the action and the game from the walkway that extends around the stadium where you can get food, programs and souvenirs.

The upper levels are skyboxes, the restaurant and media booths.  The Flyers broadcast their games on Sportsjuice.com and they have a rather large press box which is very cool.

Hawk – Ford Field

The home of the Windy City Thunderbolts is a bit of a drive for north-siders like myself.  Getting there means taking a nice long ride down I-294 which can be a bit of a nightmare during rush hours.  Still, it is worth the trip.

The stadium is located off the Midlothian Turnpike on Kenton Avenue.  It is just behind an apartment complex and surrounded by business complexes and industrial parks.  There are very large power lines near the right field side.  It is also a stadium with an upper deck, which is pretty rare in the minor leagues.

The upper deck extends only halfway along the stadium, along the left field side.  There are lower deck and box seats and some of those practically put you right on the field.  The walkway along the back of these seats allows for viewing of the game, but can get crowded.  Concession stands are located at the entrance to the park and at a larger stand out in right field.

There are party decks at both the left and right field sides.  There is a souvenir stand in left field and that is connected to the modular building that are the Windy City Thunderbolts’ offices. 

The upper deck is very roomy and has a lot of seats.  Personally, I prefer to get a seat far down the left field side in the upper deck.  You get a spectacular view of the field and the action there, plus you can see the surrounding area remarkably well which comes in handy around the 4th of July.

The right field or first base side also has more seats, but they are not covered at all by the upper deck you get when you sit along the third base side.  This can leave you more exposed to wind and rain during colder months.  However, this is also the side where you will find the “pole guys” who attend almost every home game and hang out by the light pole right near third base.

There is a smaller souvenir stand out there along with some games kids can play.  There is a large party deck out there that can be rented out by businesses.

There are some sky boxes there, but not as many as other fields.  There are also some very nice press boxes on the upper level as well. 

Parking will cost you $2.

Road Ranger Stadium

When I first went to a Rockford Riverhawks game, they were playing at the old Marinellli Field, on the south side of Rockford, in a bad part of town, right near a river that appeared more like a sewage trench than an actual natural occurrence.  It was also a stadium where, for some reason, the designers had put the light poles near the edge of the field, in front of the stands, giving many seats an obstructed view.  The stands were also old, run down and seemingly disintegrating rapidly.

At the same time, when the sun went down, it seemed every insect in and around Rockford would show up and flit and fly around the lights.  It was amazing to see swarms of billions of bugs flying above your head.  This also lead to the worlds largest collection of huge spiders that I have ever seen outside of a documentary set in the Amazon jungles.  It must have been like a smorgasbord for those arachnids.

Thankfully, the Riverhawks now have a gorgeous, modern stadium set in Rockford suburb, Loves Park, and it is a beautiful piece of work and a truly fantastic place to see a ball game.  It has plenty of parking, lights placed where they should be, a really cool entrance, great seats and plenty of sky boxes. 

Road Ranger stadium is just off of I-94 and visible from that Northwest Tollway.  It is still sort of set off by itself right now, but you can tell the area is going through a massive development phase now that the stadium is there.

There is a $2 charge for parking here, just like with the Thunderbolts, but parking is easy to get in and out of and plentiful.  The first thing you will see is the beautiful entry arch set at the gates of the stadium.  Once you are inside, you will feel like you are part of the action because no seat is more than 10 rows from the field. 

Inside the bowl-like stadium is not only great seating, but plenty of things to do for the kids.  There are games and party decks.  There are sky boxes.  There are concession stands everywhere and a great souvenir stand where you can stock up on all of your Riverhawks gear.  It even has a great sound system and scoreboard that can show animation and other video.

Elfstrom Stadium

The home of the Kane County Cougars is a bowl situated right next to a landfill.  It is also very close to a train line and there are often trains that seem like they are going to go right through the middle of the outfield.  This is another stadium that has lawn seats in addition to the box seats.  There is no upper level or deck, but there are party decks in the outfield.  All of these seats offer spectacular views of the stadium.

The stadium is located on Cherry Lane in Geneva Illinois.  It has gravel parking lots with lots of space.  General admission tickets get to park for free.  There is a preferred parking system involved with the Cougars and that will cost $5.00 per vehicle.

There are box seats, which are very comfortable, close to the action and made from red plastic.  There are also reserved seats which are really just metal benches with seat backs.  Finally, there are the lawn seats on either side of the field, in right and left field, and they are similar in nature to what you find at Alexian Field.

The walkway around the field gets blocked by the media and offices section of the stadium, so it will block your view of the field when you want to go wandering.  However, the stadium is just small enough that it won’t be blocked for long.  Netting covers the walkway directly behind homeplate, protecting unsuspecting people from the foul balls that come that way.

The Cougars offer a wide range of activities for kids and families.  They have lots of things set up to keep the kids occupied.  They also have an outstanding food menu for a minor league stadium.  Everything from a good ol’ fashioned hot dog to roasted sweet corn is available here.
 

U.S. Steelyard

I have not had the chance to visit the home of the Gary Southshore Railcats.  I do hope to get there, however, as it looks like a very cool place to see a baseball game.  It is located just off of the Indiana Tollway, not very far from downtown Chicago.  You can see the stadium from the highway (tollway, whatever) and it is right in downtown Gary.

It is another bowl stadium, with a large section behind home plate filled with sky boxes and broadcasting booths.  It is a stadium that has a Bennigan’s restaurant in right field.  It is also a stadium with a hot tub deck that parties can rent out and watch the games from the outfield.

They Railcats have a very nice website and they have a section that shows the various seating sections.  By clicking on one of those sections, you can see a picture of what the field looks like from that section.  From what I can see, there isn’t a bad seat in the house.

Despite being right downtown, there is plenty of parking in and around the stadium and all of it is free.  It also seems easily accessible from various forms of public transportation if that is your thing.

Of course, one of the things the Railcats do better than just about any other team around, is play the game well.  So, really, they could play inside a fridge box and it would be worth the time and effort to see them.

Silver Cross Field

Located right near the Joliet train station is the home of the Joliet Jackhammers of the Northern League.  Sadly, this is also a stadium I have yet to visit and that is something I truly hope to correct.  I did take a train from Chicago to St. Louis last winter however, and the view of the stadium from the train made me really want to get in there and check the place out.

The actual address of the stadium is 1 Mayor Art Schultz Drive.  It is easily reachable by I – 80 and I – 55.  Parking is plentiful and free.

There is a huge archway complete with a clock that marks the entrance of this impressive-looking brick and steel building.  Like Elfstrom and Alexian, there are lawn seats available along with seating all around the stadium that offers wide and unobstructed views of the action on the field.  There is also a hot tub at this field available for parties and people who want a unique baseball experience.

Concessions seem plentiful and like the other stadiums, there is plenty to keep kids occupied when the action on the field makes them a bit restless.
I do hope, eventually, to visit all of the fields where baseball is played nearly every night here in the Chicago area.  Only U.S. Steelyard and Silver Cross Field have yet to be seen first-hand by me and both of them look like outstanding stadiums to visit.

Wherever you want to go, there is a unique stadium experience waiting for you.  You will find parking easy and that there is plenty to keep your kids occupied while you enjoy great baseball played so close to you that you almost feel part of the team. 

I suggest checking out each team’s websites for more information about a stadium near you.

Of course, there are other minor league teams in this area and they all have to play someplace as well.  I will explain those later.

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