Illinois in Negotiations to Land Minor League Team
September 25, 2007 | Baseball
Sept. 25, 2007
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Negotiations have begun to have an independent minor league team call Illinois Field home, officials from the University of Illinois, the Frontier League, National Sports Services and team ownership announced Tuesday. The team will be a member of the independent Frontier League and is scheduled to begin play in 2009.
"Bringing this kind of team to Illinois Field would be extremely positive for our program, the university and the community," Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said. "This is a baseball town and having a professional team will be a great boost."
The Frontier League is an independent minor league that is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. It is composed of 12 teams across Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The teams play an 80-game schedule from late May to early September.
In 2007, the Southern Illinois Miners, located in Marion, Ill., began play in the league and promptly set a single-season total attendance record as 259,392 people visited Rent One Park, blowing away the previous record of 217,500 fans set by the Gateway Grizzlies at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Ill., in 2004. The Miners averaged 5,086 fans over 51 home dates this season.
