PHILIP P. ELFSTROM STADIUM

One of 2 entrances to Elfstrom Stadium- Kane Count

TEAM ::: KANE COUNTY COUGARS
LOCATION ::: GENEVA, ILLINOIS
MY FIRST VISIT ::: JULY 5, 2005
OPPONENT ::: PEORIA CHIEFS
LEVEL ::: MIDWEST LEAGUE (A)

Ozzie losing another race, Kane County Cougars

RATINGS

BALLFIELD ::: A
SCOREBOARD ::: B
FOOD ::: A
FACILITIES ::: A
MASCOT ::: A

Ozzie working the crowd - Kane County Cougars

MY TAKE ON THE PARK

The view of Elfstrom Stadium - Kane County, Il

GENEVA, ILLINOIS CAN BE FOUND ON THE CHICAGO MAP IN THE ATLAS, SO IT WOULD STAND TO REASON THAT ELFSTROM STADIUM WOULD BE IN A SUBURB WITHIN A 1/2 HOUR OF THE CITY. GENEVA MIGHT AS WELL BE IN ROCKFORD IT IS SO REMOTE, AND WITH THE TRAFFIC IN CHICAGO, GENEVA IS OVER AN HOUR
DRIVE FROM THE CITY. THAT BEING SAID, ONCE YOU MAKE IT HERE, IT REALLY IS A FINE PLACE TO TAKE A FAMILY OR A GROUP TO SEE A GAME.
UNLIKE THE CLOSE ATMOSPHERE OF WRIGLEY OR THE CITY ATMOSPHERE OF
COMISKEY, HERE IN KANE COUNTY THERE IS NOTHING BUT WIDE OPEN SPACES.

A view from Right Field - Elfstrom Stadium, Kane

FREE PARKING GREETS YOU AT THE ENTRANCE, A WELCOME SIGHT NOT FOUND AS OFTEN AS I WOULD LIKE. FROM THE CAR, THERE ARE TWO ENTRANCE CHOICES, THE CLOSEST WILL MOST LIKELY WORK FOR YOU.
THE ENTRANCE NEXT TO THE LOWER PARKING LOT PUTS YOU RIGHT INTO THE VERY LARGE KIDS SECTION LOCATED BEHIND THE RIGHT FIELD FENCE. THE MAIN ENTRANCE IS LOCATED UP BY HOME PLATE AND PUTS YOU RIGHT ONTO THE CONCOURSE. AT EITHER ENTRANCE, FRIENDLY TICKET TAKERS GREET YOU WITH A
GAME PROGRAM AND A SMILE. WITH THE FREE PROGRAM IN HAND, $1 WILL GET YOU A SCORECARD FROM THE
VENDOR, MOVE ON TO THE SEATING AREA. THIS IS AN AREA WHERE THE PARK IS LACKING. 10 ROWS OF CHAIRS, WITH CUP HOLDERS, SURROUND THE FIELD FROM
BEYOND FIRST BASE TO BEYOND THIRD. BEHIND THE CHAIRS ARE METAL BLEACHERS WITH BACKS ALL HAVING A GOOD VIEW OF A VERY GOOD LOOKING FIELD.
OVERLOOKING THE FIELD IS THE SCOREBOARD, A LINE SCORE WITH A VIDEO BOARD WHICH SADLY IS LITTLE MORE THAN A RUNNING COMMERCIAL. TWO OTHER HOCKEY STYLE SCOREBOARDS CAN BE FOUND ON THE CONCOURSE LEVEL, BEHIND
FIRST AND THIRD.

Behind Home Plate - Kane County

Looking towards left field - kane county

BETWEEN INNINGS WHEN LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO EAT, ELFSTROM STADIUM DOES NOT DISAPPOINT. THEY HAVE EVERYTHING HERE, STANDARD BASEBALL FOOD; HOT
DOGS, BRATS AND HAMBURGERS. NOT SO STANDARD CHOICES;PORK CHOP
SANDWICHES, RIB EYE SANSWICHES, AND GRILLED CORN, AS WELL AS A GOOD SELECTION OF BEERS AND WINES. OH, I CANNOT FORGET, THE FIXINS BAR FOR YOUR HOT DOG, THE BEST IN BASEBALL!!
THE LINES AT THE STANDS WERE PRACTICALLY NON EXISTANT, A BENEFIT IF VISITING THE STAND BEHIND HOME PLATE, THE ONLY AREA WHERE THE FIELD CANNOT BE SEEN DUE TO THE PRESS BOX.

A tasty fixins bar - Elfstrom Stadium, Kane County

FOLLOWING THE CONCOURSE AROUND THE PARK, CONCESSION STANDS ALONG THE WAY DOWN THE FIRST BASE SIDE TO A HILL WHERE THE STANDS GIVE WAY TO A BACKYARD BARBECUE AREA WHERE ITEMS ARE OFFERED RIGHT OFF THE GRILL.
FARTHER DOWN THE HILL TO THE LOWER ENTRANCE AREA IS A VERY LARGE CHIDREN'S AREA. PROOF THEY THOUGHT ABOUT SAFETY FIRST, THE CHIDREN'S AREA IS FAR AWAY FROM ANY POTENTIAL FLY BALL. BEYOND THE CHILDREN'S AREA ARE A GROUP OF TENTS, 14 OF THEM TO BE EXACT, ALL PICNIC AREAS. BACK TOWARDS THE PLAYING FIELD, ABOVE THE OUTFIELD WALL SIT 3 MORE PICNIC
DECKS. THESE DECKS ALL SIT ON TOP OF THE WALL AND OFFER GUESTS THE CHANCE AT CATCHING A HOME RUN BALL. SINCE THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ENOUGH, AT THE END OF THE THIRD BASE CONCOURSE ARE 3 MORE PICNIC AREAS. HOPEFULLY, ALL OF THE PICNIC AREAS GET THE SAME FOOD AS THE PEOPLE IN THE STANDS.

A view from beyond Right field - Kane County

IT SEEMS TO ME THAT A GAME WITH THE KANE COUNTY COUGARS IS NOT FOR THE BASEBALL FAN WHO WANTS TO GO TO THE PARK AND SEE A GAME. PARTIES SEEM TO BE THE TARGET AUDIENCE AND FROM THE LOOKS OF THINGS, THE COUGARS DO IT RIGHT. UNFORTUNATELY, I AM NOT LOOKING FOR THAT. THE GAME HERE IS CLEARLY NOT THE IMPORTANT THING, FROM THE CONSTANT SOUND EFFECTS TO MISSED SUBSTITUTIONS ON THE SCOREBOARD. HOWEVER, IF YOU LIKE A FUN ATMOSPHERE WHERE THE BETWEEN INNING GAMES ARE MORE
IMPORTANT THAN OAKLAND'S NEXT POWER HITTER, THIS IS THE PLACE FOR YOU.

One of the many playground areas Elfstrom Stadium

A FEW MINOR POINTS ...

THE PLACE DOES NOT SMELL .. I'VE READ SOME REPORTS OF THE PARK BEING BUILT ON A LANDFILL, WHICH IS TRUE, BUT IT WAS A WARM DAY ON MY VISIT SO IF THERE WAS GOING TO BE AN ODOR, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE DAY I VISITED.

THE SOUVENIR STAND HAS NO SELECTION .. IF YOU LIKE TO PICK UP A FEW SOUVENIRS AT THE GAME, DON'T EXPECT ANYTHING HERE. MAYBE YOU WILL GET A T-SHIRT OR BALL ... A LOT OF COWBELLS THOUGH.

TICKETS CAN BE ORDERED ON THE WEB SITE BUT YOU CANNOT CHOOSE YOUR SEAT, JUST LOCATION. THEY SEEM TO DRAW PRETTY WELL HERE SO YOU MAY WANT TO HAVE TICKETS BEFORE YOU GO, OR A PICNIC RESERVATION.

FINALLY, EVEN THOUGH I WASN'T A FAN OF THE PARK, KANE COUNTY IS A VERY SUCCESSFUL TEAM AND THEY SEEM TO 'GET IT' WHEN IT COMES TO ENTERTAINING FAMILIES WHO HAVE LEFT THE CITY FOR SOME WIDE OPEN SPACES.

The Kane County Cougars - Elfstrom Stadium

LINE UPS

PEORIA CHIEFS MANAGER :::

33 Julio Garcia

KANE COUNTY COUGARS MANAGER :::

20 Dave Joppie

PEORIA CHIEFS

5 Sam Fuld cf
4 Eric Patterson 2b
25 Ryan Harvey rf
21 Luis Montanez lf
27 Bo Flowers dh
12 Anthony Granato 3b
20 Oscar Bernard c
3 Aaron Smith 1b
2 Joe Simokaitis ss
23 Chris Shaver p
-- Victor Ramos LP

Warming up - Elfstrom Stadium, Kane County

KANE COUNTY COUGARS

11 Nick Blasi lf
5 Cliff Pennington ss
17 Javier Herrera cf
25 Tommy Everidge 1b
7 Myron Leslie 3b
44 Jose Pineda rf
33 Luis Perez dh
12 Roberto Arias c
13 Gregorio Petit 2b
34 Trent Petersen p
77 J.R. Pickens WP

Scoreboard Elfstrom Stadium - Kane County