Joliet Slammers start season with new owners, new food and stadium upgrades

Opening day for the Joliet Slammers is Friday, giving the Joliet area something new to do and eat.

The 2024 season may be most notable for the arrival of new ownership that includes the Veeck family and actor Bill Murray.

That new ownership has gotten attention, said Heather Mills, a top executive with the team for several years who marched with the Slammers in St. Patrick’s Day-themed parades in Plainfield, Manhattan and Naperville.

People were talking about the new ownership, Mills said.

“There has been a buzz,” she said. “People know about it.”

That buzz was evident Friday at an event where the Slammers offered a taste of what fans will find at Duly Health and Care Field this summer.

Season-ticket holders lined up to speak with new Executive Vice President Night Train Veeck, and the Hall of Fame Room at Duly Health and Care Field was filled with visitors.

They also got a chance to sample the Foul Ball and Blagojevic Slammer, two new items on the menu at the concession stands, and meet some of the local business owners who team up with the Slammers to create the ballpark menu.

Returning to Duly Heath and Care Field are Wyler BBQ with an assortment of barbecue specialties, Sunshine Cafe with tacos and other Mexican food, and Creamery with its ice cream treats.

New to the stadium is Crumbl Cookie, a cookie company that spans the U.S. and Canada and is franchised locally by Frankie and Traci Pretzel.

“Our goal is to bring friends and family together,” Pretzel said. “I feel baseball does the same thing.”

The Pretzels have Crumbl Cookie stories in Lockport, Mokena and Bolingbrook.

Slammers fans won’t go hungry. Options at the old ballpark go far beyond peanuts, popcorn and hot dogs.

Food and Beverage Director Joel Sigel has introduced new items this year.

The Foul Ball appeared to be the most popular item at the Friday food tasting.

“It’s a pretzel ball filled with hot honey and cheese,” Slammers Food and Beverage Director Joel Sigel said.

Sigel noted the Foul Balls were moving fast.

The Blagojevich Slammer, named after former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich who served eight years in prison, is a hamburger topped with beer cheese, an onion ring and jalapeno peppers on a bun made by Milano Bakery Co. in Joliet.

Sigel said the Blagojevich Slammer was created “just out the fun of it” and hopes it will add to the fan experience at the ballpark.

The Slammers had a championship season at the concession stand last year, according to Sigel, who said the team numbers in food sales were best in the Frontier League.

“We had no complaints on food,” he said. “The only complaint was the long lines.”

To address that, the Slammers this year will introduce a new system allowing fans to order and pay for food from their seats by scanning a QR code. They will be texted when food is ready and can pick it up at the concession stand.

Slammers fans should notice other upgrades at Duly Health and Care Field.

“There has been a facelift at the stadium,” Mills said, pointing to a new coat of paint and other stadium improvements.

The familiar ironworkers sculpture, depicting ironworkers on lunch break on a skyscraper beam, is back after having to be taken down in a 2020 storm. It is now at the Ole Smokey concession stand.

The city of Joliet owns Duly Health and Care Field, which is managed by the Slammers.

The new ownership is reflected on the Slammers website, which shows Murray and Mike Veeck as owners. But longtime owner Nick Semaca remains as a partner in the new ownership group.

Night Train Veeck, Mike Veeck’s son and grandson of former White Sox owner Bill Veeck, is the new executive vice president of the team.

Mills, a familiar face for Slammers’ fans, remains a top executive continuing as chief financial officer.

By all appearances old and new management have appeared to merge well as the new season is about to begin.

Tickets are still available for the season opener weekend, which includes fireworks Friday night. The Friday game starts at 6:35 p.m.

“It’s going to be an exciting year,” Mills said, adding that people “should come out and see what we have to offer.”