Will Cook County News

By Claude Martinez.

Joliet – The Route 66 Centennial is almost here and will begin in 2026. Route 66 was established in 1926 and is known as the “Mother Road,” running from Chicago to Los Angeles as one of America’s most iconic highways. Along the way in Illinois, there are two professional baseball teams near the route that will be playing in one of the most unique baseball games of 2026. Yes, they will be playing on a traditional baseball diamond, but the venue is a prison, the Old Joliet Prison.

On Wednesday, December 17, the Will Cook County News (WCCN) chatted with an owner of the Joliet Slammers.

The Slammers are part of an ownership group consisting of Mike Veeck, Bill Murray, and Night Train Veeck (son of Mike). This past season, all three owners came up with a unique idea that got the City of Joliet buzzing. It involved dropping 2,600 hot dogs, out of a helicopter, onto the baseball field for the World Record ‘Wiener Drop.’

“It was all of our ideas,” said Night Train Veeck, Executive Vice President of the Slammers. “We went through the process of just brainstorming… and we wanted to do something obviously that would get some attention and bring some fun into the place and we caught lightning in a bottle.”

“It was a wonderful promotion that Pabst Light joined us in… and the City of Joliet was very supportive. There was a lot of behind-the-scenes work that couldn’t have been done without everybody involved. So, it was certainly a big group effort and I don’t know what fits inside of a baseball stadium better than hot dogs and beer,” Veeck said happily.

Night Train Veeck and his partners want to capture this excitement once again by hosting a preseason baseball game at the Old Joliet Prison, located at 1125 Collins St., Joliet, on April 30, 2026.

The event will be called The Big House Ballgame. Not only are the Slammers going to play their best baseball, but they will also host one of the biggest celebrations along Route 66 in the state of Illinois.

“I think the biggest thing is bringing people to celebrate the Route 66 centennial,” said Veeck. “You only get one chance to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of something, whatever that is, and we (the City of Joliet, the Old Joliet Prison and the Slammers) figured why not be the best of the six cities on the circuit of Route 66 to do it? [And to] put Joliet on the map and even bring in the Gateway Grizzlies (Sauget, IL) into the equation so we can have a Route 66 series.”

The Old Joliet Prison’s official name is the Joliet Correctional Center. It began taking prisoners just before the Civil War in 1858 and was closed in 2002. Many people might remember that the 1980 Blues Brothers film and the 2005–2009 Prison Break television series were filmed at this location, among others. One thing not shown in those productions was a baseball diamond located inside the towering stone walls.

According to the Joliet Slammers website, baseball was introduced by the warden in 1914 to reward prisoners for good behavior. Now, more than 100 years later, baseball will return to those same grounds.

“We’ve started the prep work already and are going to wait for springtime to get the real field work going. We’ve been in partnership with the prison itself and then another company, Sports Fields Inc., and they’ve been gracious enough to take on the project and join in on the fun,” said Night Train Veeck. “We don’t know the final dimensions yet, but I’m thinking that it’s probably going to be a little bit shorter [than our normal field.] So, I think fans can expect some good home runs.”

Finally, Veeck spoke about how this event will create memories that will last a lifetime. “I say this to our staff all the time. I want people to take away a wonderful memory,” Night Train Veeck stated. “We’re memory makers. This is a really big opportunity as a city, as a state, as a historic venue and as a baseball team to get everybody together. It’s the place where we can gather and celebrate that history and celebrate Route 66.”

“So, if anything, I want people to have that memory, have that fun, have that joy that they can experience with friends, family, whomever when they’re out there watching the Slammers hit their 17th home run over the wall!”

If you are interested in attending The Big House Ballgame, you can visit the Joliet Slammers website at
jolietslammers.com/bhbg and join the waiting list for tickets and more information.

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