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Article: Covering all the bases; Minor league owners find fields of dreams in suburban locations, but success requires squeezing every nickel from revenue streams.(Small Business)(new baseball stadium)
- Article from:
- Crain's Chicago Business
- Article date:
- August 11, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Crain Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: JOHN T. SLANIA
Downtown Gary, Ind., seems an unlikely place for a glistening new baseball stadium, but it's home to the Gary SouthShore RailCats, the Chicago area's newest minor league baseball team.
U.S. Steel Yard, the $45-million stadium that opened this spring, stands in glitzy contrast to its gritty surroundings.
Visible over the outfield walls are orange flames belching from the brick smokestacks of U.S. Steel Corp.'s Gary Works plant. Nearby, a steady stream of semis rumble along Interstate 90, while blaring horns signal the passing of a South Shore Line commuter train. Empty warehouses and tired dwellings housing the city's poor ...