Owners of Peoria Chief’s Stadium are working on a financial restructuring for the struggling ball park. It consists of three parts: new owner investments, revenue from local corporations including Caterpillar and Bradley University, and debt forgiveness. That means a bank loan reduction and the city of Peoria forgiving one point two million in bond debt. Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis says it’s important for the city to support the park because not many communities Peoria’s size have a farm team for a major league team. He says seeing the stadium shutdown would not be good for the city.
“Its an incredible amenity to us. It’s going to compliment many of the things the city has been working on in the downtown and the warehouse district. Walking distance from Caterpillar’s new corporate headquarter campus when that comes online. And it really is important to the quality of life that we have,” Ardis says.
The city would absorb the payments on the Stadium’s remaining bond debt over the next eight years. This proposed debt forgiveness is the subject of a special city council meeting Tuesday night at seven o’clock.