Kicks Just Off Route 66

Main entrance to Silver Cross Field, Jul-2003.

The entire seating bowl, as seen from the center-field concourse.

Joliet High School is visible in the distance; a firehouse is also visible down the left-field line.

Chronological Tour: Stop 246

• Location: Jefferson Street at railroad tracks, Joliet, Ill. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 2002 as Silver Cross Field
• Additional names: Joliet Route 66 Stadium (2018), DuPage Medical Group Field (2019); Duly Health and Care Field (2022)
• Home team: Joliet Jackhammers, Northern League (2002-10); Joliet Slammers, Frontier League (2011-present); University of Saint Francis Fighting Saints, Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference
• Capacity: 6,500 (approx.)

Rating: 4 baseballs

The gift shop is also at street level, and if you want to reach it from the park you can enter from the main entrance portal or descend a spiral staircase from the concourse level.

At the game I attended, one of the employees pointed out that a fan recently suffered an injury tumbling down the rather steep grass berm which is sold as “lawn seating”. He also pointed out the headache of handicapped access, which is only through an elevator from street level.

All that said, I enjoyed the park. The view includes Joliet’s high school as well as a firehouse, and the park is located next to railroad tracks that are always busy with both Amtrak and freight trains.

When the Silver Cross Hospital announced that it would not renew its naming rights contract after 15 years, the old ballpark name stayed up for a season and then the park became known as Joliet Route 66 Stadium. The park is one block east of the route of the historic highway. Then, just before the 2019 season started, DuPage Medical Group, a consortium of local physicians and providers, put its name on the ballpark. That outfit rebranded as Duly Health and Care in 2022, precipitating another name change for the park.

In addition, the field now sports artificial turf, an update that took place around 2017 according to a staff member.