They Love Their Cougars

Home plate entrance to Elfstrom Stadium, Aug-2006.

Another look at the expansive, and well-used, grandstand at Elfstrom.

Looking out from home plate.

• Location: Cherry Lane off Kirk Road, Geneva, Ill.
• Opened: 1991
• Home team: Kane County Cougars, Midwest League (1991-present)
• Capacity: 7,400

Rating: 3 baseballs

I got back in 2006 to take new photos and visit a Cougars pitcher. While the park was starting to look old and had taken on something of a plain-Jane appearance to these jaded eyes, and the concourses appeared just a bit narrow, the Cougars were still drawing tremendously in this western-edge suburb of Chicago.

In 1998, despite their “officially” small size (then 5,900 capacity), the Cougars finished a very close third in the Midwest League attendance race to the West Michigan Whitecaps and the Lansing Lugnuts. The Cougars drew over 480,000 spectators that season. Just the weekend before I made my return trip, they had 14,000 and 10,000 for Saturday and Sunday games.