Joliet puts $540,000-plus into Slammers Stadium improvements

The city’s baseball stadium is getting a new audio system, fresh paint, improved fire suppression and other upgrades as the Joliet Slammers’ season opener approaches.

The city of Joliet will have spent more than $540,000 on stadium improvements before the home opener May 9.

Some improvements will be more noticeable than others, Slammers Executive Vice President Night Train Veeck said.

The new audio system should make a difference in the fan experience, Veeck said.

“I’m really excited,” he said of the new system, which should be ready for opening day. “You don’t always get an opportunity for a sound system at a ballpark.”

The sound system being replaced was installed when the stadium was built in 2002.

The system has since become inoperable in some sections of the ballpark.

Veeck said the new system not only will make it easier for fans to hear the public address system, but it will give the Slammers more control over the audio delivery during the course of the game.

The city in March awarded a $162,000 contract to Visua for the audio system upgrades.

Improvements to the fire suppression system are upgrades that Veeck said he hopes will go unnoticed.

“You’ll see fresh paint on that whole front entrance. We did the gates last year. Now we’re going to the top.”

—  Blaine Kline, facilities management director for the city of Joliet

The city paid $101,000 to AMS Industries for fire alarm system upgrades made throughout the stadium. More improvements in the fire suppression system still are being made, said Blaine Kline, facilities management director for the city of Joliet.

Most noticeable to anyone driving past the stadium along Jefferson Street is a structural steel paint project that started last year and will continue for several more years.

“You’ll see fresh paint on that whole front entrance,” Kline said. “We did the gates last year. Now we’re going to the top.”

Workers on cranes were adding a new coat of green paint Friday to the towers that mark the front entrance to the stadium.

Like the audio system, the steel structures have not been repainted since the stadium opened in 2002. The same color of green is being used, again making it an improvement that fans are not likely to notice, but one that Kline said needs to be done.

Cosgrove Steel Painting was awarded a $277,250 contract for this year’s segment of the painting project, which will continue in upcoming years.

Kline said other sections of the stadium will be repainted during offseasons for the next five years.

“That’s going to be a project you’ll hear about us doing every spring,” he said.

The city also has made less expensive upgrades in the suite area of the stadium, adding new flooring that Veeck said creates a brighter atmosphere.

Players with the Slammers and visiting teams will see some improvements. The dugouts have new benches and steps.

Veeck said more protective padding will be added to the dugouts to protect players from hard-hit foul balls.

The stadium improvements are a part of what Veeck called “one of the busiest offseasons in my career.”

The Slammers have been lining up promotions and other attractions for fans.

“Keep an eye out for some giveaways,” Veeck said. “Those should be coming out soon.”