No bull! Dozer Park chosen for stadium name
- Details
- Published on Friday, 10 May 2013 11:23
- Written by Paul Gordon
There may soon be large Caterpillar machinery parked in the concourse at the downtown baseball stadium, replacing the autos that once stood there.
That's because the stadium is now known as Dozer Park, an homage to the Caterpillar bulldozer and its historic meaning to the community and the company that makes it and now owns the naming rights to the stadium.
Caterpillar Inc., which will pay the Peoria Chiefs $2 million over the next 10 years for the naming rights, announced the name this morning.
"The company was founded on the bulldozer," said Jim Baumgartner, director of corporate affairs at Caterpillar. "We wanted to choose something that represents Caterpillar's heritage but also represents Peoria. This is our hometown, and it's the region where we've made tractors since the company's inception."
Caterpillar agreed to purchase the naming rights as part of an agreement through which the stadium's debt will be restructured. The agreement also includes a reduction of the bank debt and approval last week by the Peoria City Council to forgive the final $1.2 million in debt for bonds that were used to pay for infrastructure around the stadium when it was built nearly a dozen years ago.
The city, banks and Caterpillar reached the agreement with the Chiefs and the group of stadium owners "to keep the downtown stadium as a viable community asset and retain professional minor league baseball in Peoria for many years to come," Caterpillar said.
Added Baumgartner, "We have more than 16,000 employees and their families in the area, and this is an important tool to attract talented people to work at our company. The ballpark is an asset for our community and an integral part of the Warehouse District Revitalization efforts. We are committed to central Illinois."
"We are thankful for Caterpillar's involvement with the ballpark and we're thrilled to have 'Dozer Park' as the name," said Peoria Chiefs President Rocky Vonachen. "Caterpillar is such a driving force in our community. The company is helping make progress possible in Peoria."
The ballpark will be referred to as Dozer Park immediately. A grand re-opening celebration will be held sometime later this summer, said company spokeswoman Lisa Miller.
She said new signs identifying the stadium as Dozer Park will be erected, as well.
As far as putting machinery on the concourse? "We'll see," she said.
