Page 36 - The Peorian, Vol 3 Issue 2

36 thePeorian.com
The Present
“We’re talking a lot about
how we create an experience
that’s very different,” Schlegel
said. “The kids will come and
they’ll play their games just as
they would anywhere else. But
there’s a lot of things we want
to surround them with. What
can we do to make them love
the experience while they’re on
the field? What are all the things
we could be doing when they’re
off the field to help them really
understand what it means to con-
tribute on the field, what it means
to contribute to their family [and]
to their community? We think
that there’s a lot more that we can
achieve than just hosting baseball
and softball games.”
One way the company wishes
to create that experience is by
bringing its museum, which is
currently in Louisville, to the
sports complex. It will not only
teach people about the history of
the organization but also the his-
tory of baseball, he said.
Parents and coaches are also
being kept in
mind. Slugger
wants to make the
experience great
for them and
wants to make the
complex a place
where they want
to go, as well.
This is the first
time Slugger has
ever attempted
anything like
this, but Schlegel
and Cunningham
both believe the
Louisville Slugger
brand and Peoria’s connection
with the rest of the Midwest will
draw people in.
Other than creating around 12
to 16 full-time jobs and another
150 to 250
part-time
jobs, Cun-
ningham
said the
complex
will fill 25
percent of
the hotel
rooms in
the Peoria
area during
the prime
summer
months,
which are
usually the weakest months for
hotels, and around 70,000 to
90,000 hotel room nights a year.
To help accommodate all these
visitors, a Holiday Inn Confer-
ence Center is planned for across
the street from the sports com-
plex. The hotel will have around
120 rooms and an 8,000 to 10,000
square-foot conference center.
If the complex gets zoning
approval from the city, Cun-
ningham hopes to break ground
and begin construction in March
or April with the infrastructure
done, the parking lot finished and
the dome operational by late fall
of this year.
The expectation is to have the
hotel ready around that same
time or a bit later, and the goal
is to have the fields fully opera-
tional by spring 2015.
This is a depiction of how the dome at the Louisville Slugger Sports
Complex will be set up inside, with fields and courts for various sports.
Dan Cunningham