Joliet gives stadium a new name

JOLIET – The city stadium officially has a new name, although it still has the same old sign for now.

The Joliet City Council on Tuesday approved naming the downtown stadium Joliet Route 66 Stadium, a name that capitalizes on Joliet’s place along the historic Route 66 highway.

The name was unveiled Oct. 20 at a Route 66 Miles of Possibilities Conference being held in Joliet. City officials at the event also presented a conceptual drawing of how the new name could be displayed at the front gate of the stadium.

For now, however, the front gate still says Silver Cross Field, even though the Silver Cross Hospital naming rights contract expired at the end of 2016.

The city does not plan to take down the old sign until it has money to put up a new one so as not to spend money twice on cranes needed for both jobs.

Interim City Manager Marty Shanahan told the council Monday that he does not have a timetable for taking down the Silver Cross Field sign.

The city and the Slammers, the baseball team that plays at the stadium and manages the facility, have not been able to land a new naming rights sponsor since it was announced in August 2016 that Silver Cross would not renew.

Shanahan said if a sponsor is found, a sponsor name can be added in a similar fashion to what is done at the Joliet Park District’s Memorial Stadium, where ATI Physical Therapy has a naming rights contract. The facility officially is named ATI Field at Memorial Stadium.