Joliet gets $51,000 from stadium naming rights deal

One secret aspect of the naming rights deal for the city-owned baseball stadium has become public while Joliet officials crunch budget numbers for 2020.

The city received $51,000 in naming rights revenue from DuPage Medical Group Field this year.

The naming rights deal never has been made public, and details such as how much DuPage Medical Group is paying to put its name on the public facility previously have not been revealed.

However, Finance Director James Ghedotte reported receiving a $51,000 naming rights check for the city.

The question of revenue from the stadium arose when Ghedotte presented the proposed 2020 budget to the City Council last week.

Ghedotte said then that he received the naming rights check and the city got about $70,000 in revenue from the stadium. He amended that figure Tuesday to be $81,000, saying he was referring to all stadium revenue.

In addition to the $51,000 naming rights check, the city received $30,000 in rent from the Slammers, the baseball team that plays at the stadium and manages it.

The Slammers’ annual rent is $75,000, but the team can deduct specified maintenance and utility costs, Ghedotte said.

The stadium lease also requires the Slammers to share half of the naming rights revenue with the city. Whether there are provisions in the naming rights agreement that might change that number is not known, since the agreement has not been made public.

The city revealed some terms of the agreement when the council voted on it without being allowed to read it in July, which led to a 5-3 vote of approval while three council members dissented. But full terms, including the dollar value and number of years the agreement is in effect, have not been disclosed.

Councilman Larry Hug asked about ballpark revenues at the Nov. 25 budget meeting in light of projections that the city will spend $301,000 at the stadium in 2020. Half of that spending is expected to be on repairs.

The naming rights agreement with DuPage Medical Group was reached in May, when it was announced by all three parties without the agreement yet having been approved by the City Council.

The naming rights revenue this year was the first received after the previous naming rights agreement with Silver Cross Hospital expired at the end of the 2016 season.

The 15-year Silver Cross Hospital deal, which was made public, was worth up to $150,000 a year although the annual payment was linked to attendance.