User:Kowalcz1/The Corn Crib

The Corn Crib is a new multi-purpose stadium currently in Normal, Illinois. It is primarily used for baseball and is the home of the Normal CornBelters of the Frontier League. The ballpark has a capacity of 8,600 people and opened in the May of 2010. It is located on a 22 acre portion of the campus of Heartland Community College. As well as hosting the Normal CornBelters, the venue plays host to Heartland Community College's baseball, softball, and soccer teams. The venue also hosts many events for the Bloomington and Normal communities including school carnivals and movie nights. Its ability as a multipurpose facility to go along with its low construction costs makes it revolutionary in its design. The Sprinturf field as well as its prime location to many Central Illinois cities ensures the facility will be in use for years to come.

Venue
The Corn Crib is located in Normal, Illinois, along Raab Road. It was originally opened in 2010. It was built on 22 acres obtained from Heartland Community College. The ballpark has an approximate capacity of 8,600. This includes 3,500 armchair seats, 1,000 bleacher seats, 3,000 capacity on the berm or lawn, and 100 on the party deck. It also has 10 ballpark suites. It was designed by Pendulum Studios. They also created O'Brien Field in Peoria, Illinois, and well as the U.S. Steel Yard in Gary, Indiana.

The total cost of building the stadium was roughly $9 million, excluding the cost of the land it was built on. The dimensions of the park are 328' down the left field and right field lines, 370' to left and right-center fields, and 400' to center field. There is a definite corn theme throughout the ballpark. Corn is actually planted in the right field berm. Corn tassels and silk are on every sign in the park. Corn on the cob, corn dogs, and many other corn inspired products are sold in the concession stands.

The artificial turf on the field also covers up the infield dirt and the warning track. This is much different than other professional parks that also use turf. Many other turf baseball fields still have dirt infields and warning tracks as well as dirt pitcher's mounds and batter's boxes. The turf pitcher's mound can also be removed in order to accommodate the Heartland Community College softball team. The Corn Crib is built with all turf because of its multi-purpose use. It hosts many other non-baseball related events and activities.

The concession stands, media and club suites, and clubhouses at The Corn Crib are in separate buildings above the seating bowl. They are also built up to the height of the berm. This allows for spectators to walk around the main concourse. However, the concourse does not extend entirely around the field. There is also a playground in the left field berm for children, and a screen in the parking lot of that allows for drive-in movies.

Park Name
On October 20, 2009, the ballpark's name was officially announced. The name comes from a partnership between the Illinois corn farmers and the Normal CornBelters. The current deal set in place is a two year deal with an automatic renewal after the second year. However, according to Jim Rapp, chairman of the Illinois Corn Marketing Board (ICMB), "If it doesn't feel like it's going to work, we could get out (after two years). But we feel it's a real opportunity and we're looking forward to being a part of it." The financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

ICMB and the Normal CornBelters wanted the name to be a pop-culture symbol and along with an agricultural one. The nickname "crib" was used in order to appeal both to the younger generation, which knows a "crib" as a place of residence or home, and to also appeal to the older generations, which know a "crib" as a barn-like structure that housed ears of corn after being picked. The president of the CornBelters, Steve Malliet, said, "We feel this name and logo of the stadium will give the community, region and state a renewed understanding of how agriculture plays a quiet but essential role in their daily lives."

Teams
The Corn Crib is home to the Normal CornBelters, an independent professional baseball team that plays in the Frontier League. The CornBelters are the first professional baseball team to play in Normal, IL since 1939. They played their first home game June 1, 2010, in The Corn Crib.

The stadium also plays host to many Heartland Community College athletic teams, including baseball, softball, and men's and women's soccer. The men's soccer team opened home play on September 8th, 2010, at The Corn Crib with a 2-1 overtime win over Lincoln Land Community College. The women's soccer team opened home play at The Corn Crib on September 22nd, 2010, with a 1-0 loss to Illinois Central College. The softball team first played at the Corn Crib on March 24th, 2011, with a doubleheader against Lewis and Clark Community College. They won both games 8-0 and 19-1, respectively. And finally, the baseball team opened play on March 16th, 2011, with a doubleheader against Lincoln Land Community College at the Corn Crib. They also won both games 6-5 and 11-7.

Other Uses
One of the better features of The Corn Crib is its unique ability to host multiple events. Because the parking lot has a huge movie screen, the CornBelters have offered the Bloomington-Normal area free movie nights presented by Frontier. The three movies that are being shown in the summer of 2011 are: The Field of Dreams on June 11th, The Natural on July 16th, and The Rookie on August 6th.

Other events that will be held at the Corn Crib include multiple end of the school year carnivals as well as the Aquafina MLB Pitch, Hit, and Run Competition which will be hosted on May 8th, 2011. The MLB Pitch, Hit and Run is a skill based competition that provides boys and girls the chance to advance through four levels of competition. Competitors could win the opportunity to compete at Team Championships events at all 30 Major League ballparks and the National Finals at the MLB All-Star Game.