ThunderBolts Unveil Logo for 20th Anniversary in Crestwood and Frontier League

PRESS RELEASE – The Windy City ThunderBolts will be celebrating their 20th anniversary season in 2019, and to kick off the celebration, the ThunderBolts have unveiled their 20th anniversary logo. The logo commemorates the 20 years that the franchise has spent in the Frontier League and in Crestwood, Illinois.

Crestwood Ballpark Celebrates 20th Season

It’s hard to believe its been 20 years already, but this year marks the 20th season of professional baseball at what is now called Standard Bank Stadium in Crestwood (IL), home of the Windy City Thunderbolts (Independent Professional, Frontier League).  Read more here.

Windy City Hurler Signs Biggest Endorsement Deal of All Time

Archer, a Chicago-based company that sells men’s home products, has signed Windy City Thunderbolts (Independent, Frontier League) pitcher Clay Chapman to the biggest sports endorsement deal of all time. Read press release here.  Watch news report here.

Ballpark Visit ALERT: Standard Bank Stadium (Crestwood, IL)

Charles O’Reilly from CharliesBallparks.com recently visited Standard Bank Stadium (41 photos), home of the Windy City Thunderbolts (Indy Pro, Frontier League).  View photo gallery here.

Thunderbolts Ditching Natural Grass for Artificial Turf

PRESS RELEASE – The Windy City ThunderBolts are proud to announce a major improvement to Standard Bank Stadium for the 2015 season. The ThunderBolts are installing a brand new artificial turf field replacing the natural grass field that has been at the site prior to the stadium was built.

Windy City Thunderbolts Under New Ownership

PRESS RELEASE – Effective Monday, October 20, 2014 the Windy City ThunderBolts baseball club’s ownership was transferred solely to Al Oremus. The transfer became official on Monday afternoon after the Frontier League approved the transaction by a unanimous vote this past Friday. Oremus, who has owned 20% of the club as a minority owner since 2012, bought the remaining 80% from Dan Brennan and Mike Stranczek.

Thunderbolts Getting New Scoreboard/Videoboard

PRESS RELEASE – The Village of Crestwood and the Windy City ThunderBolts are proud to announce that Standard Bank Stadium will greatly improve the fan experience at the ballpark with the addition of a new scoreboard/video board that will be fullly completed by August 1st.

‘Battle of the Sexes’ in Crestwood

PRESS RELEASE – The Windy City ThunderBolts and the Chicago Bandits of National Pro Fastpitch are proud to announce a “Battle of the Sexes” fastpitch softball game at Standard Bank Stadium on Monday, June 23rd at 7 p.m.

‘Bolts Welcome 1 Millionth Fan

PRESS RELEASE – The Windy City ThunderBolts are proud to announce that Karen Kenny of Tinley Park was the 1,000,000 fan in franchise history.  The moment happened at 6:23 pm on Thursday, August 11, 2011.  Going into Thursday’s game the official count was at 999,870.  So when Karen Kenny was the 130th fan in the park after gates opened, she became a major part of team history.

Minor Baseball Entertainment Options in Chicagoland

Neil Milbert, special to the Tribune Newspapers, takes a look at the five minor league baseball options in the Chicago area for fans, including the Single-A Kane County Cougars (Midwest League), and indy pro Joliet Slammers (Frontier League), Gary SouthShore RailCats (American Association), Windy City Thunderbolts (Frontier League), and Lake County Fielders (North American League).  Read more here.

City Makes Pitch for Joliet, ‘Bolts Want Payout

The City of Joliet (IL) made a pitch for Frontier League membership on Monday. While no decision was made, the Windy City Thunderbolts reportedly want a $200k payout for territorial intrusion.  If true, this is silly, as the Joliet JackHammers are already in the market under a different league banner.  In fact, the ‘Bolts would actually benefit from having a new suburban Chicago rival.  Read more here.

Chicago-area Indy Teams Provide Fans with Affordable Options

In challenging economic times, the independent professional teams around Chicago are holding their own.  The Northern League’s Gary SouthShore RailCats and Schaumburg Flyers both saw modest per game average attendance increases over last year.  The ‘Cats were up 70 per game to 3,539, while the Flyers were up 96 per game to 4,394.  The league’s Joliet Jackhammers dropped 597 per game, but their 3,250 average is still respectable.  The biggest surprise has to be the Frontier League’s Windy City Thunderbolts, which jumped up 465 fans per game last year to an average of 2,252 in 2009.  Read more here.