‘Nothing’s been decided yet,’ but Quincy likely to return to Prospect League if stadium renovation deal is made

QUINCY — Quincy didn’t go without summer baseball for long.

Nearly 14 months after owners Jimmie and Julie Louthan said the Quincy Gems of the Prospect League would not play at QU Stadium for the 2024 season, a Springfield ownership group announced Friday morning it is finalizing a lease agreement with Quincy University to return summer collegiate baseball in the Prospect League to Quincy for the 2025 season.

“We’ve ready and willing to move this forward, but nothing’s been decided yet,” said Tim Hoker, one of the partners with Golden Rule Entertainment, which also owns Capital City Baseball LLC, the ownership group that has operated the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes in the Prospect League since the 2022 season. 

“We believe, based on the conversations we’ve had in the last six months, that we will have a team for the 2025 season and be ready to go. Some things have got to get done. There’s a big list, but we are prioritizing the ones that have to get done. Most of those are around making sure (QU Stadium) is safe and comfortable for the fans.”

The Louthans were faced with uncertainty about how and when the safety concerns and infrastructure needs would be addressed at QU Stadium, leading to the September 2023 decision to sell the Gems to Full Count Ministries of Henderson, Tenn. The Full Count Rhythm played in the Prospect League during the 2024 season.

Those concerns remain, and a plan to pay for renovations to the stadium — built in 1938 — is expected to be the topic of Friday meetings when officials from Quincy University and the City of Quincy gather with Hoker and Jamie Toole with Golden Rule Entertainment.

Quincy Mayor Mike Troup said Thursday he’s concerned renovations to the stadium might not be finished in time for the 2025 season. John Wood Community College has been discussed as a possible home field. Troup also said the new team might have to play games in Springfield in 2025 before coming to Quincy in 2026.

“(Golden Rule’s) goal was to have an agreement worked out between QU and themselves before Oct. 1, and we know they’re going to come to the city and say, ‘Hey, we need a little bit more help (to pay for renovations),’” Troup said.

Troup said the list of stadium improvements includes improving the seats, putting artificial turf in the outfield (the infield already has turf), updating the lighting and renovating the dugouts.

“We have a list of items that need to be addressed immediately, and we have a list of items that are for three to five years from now,” Hoker said. “When we sat down with the university and did some site visits, we sat down with the athletic director (Josh Rabe), and we went over two lists — a wish list and a need list.

“The (outfield) turf is a want for down the road. The seating, the dugouts and the lighting are the three biggest issues.”

Hoker said Golden Rule is looking at what he called a “three-headed monster” — the city, the university and the team ownership — to pay for the renovations.

“We are working through that piece, and it will hopefully be no burden to any one of the entities,” he said. “When we’re done, everybody will be comfortable with what they’re paying.”

Asked what the price tag on renovations would cost, Troup said, “It’s pretty good. It’s not as much as bringing a manufacturer to town. When it’s all said and done, I think it would be north of a million bucks. None of the groups can, let alone want, to pay for all of that.”

Troup said he would propose for the city to dip into its food and beverage tax to help pay for renovations.

“(The team is) going to help bring visitors to town,” he said. “It’s going to help restaurant and beverage sales. I think it’s probably the most optimistic to say we can fill the gap (between what the team and the university will pay), but we’re not to be the lead dog, I wouldn’t have a shot in hell going for the whole enchilada. I mean, can you imagine? We’d have a lynching at the town square (if the city paid for all the renovations). I’m not quite ready for that.”

Hoker, who now lives in Grayslake near the Illinois-Wisconsin border, played football at Quincy University, graduating in 2000. He was in Quincy during the summer of 1996 when the Gems returned to the Central Illinois Collegiate League (CICL) — which later was folded into the Prospect League.

“I remember that buzz,” he said. “I remember sold-out crowds.”

Minor league baseball teams called Quincy home as far back as 1946. The city then had a team called the Rivermen in the CICL from 1974-87.

“The Prospect League is excited about the opportunity to return to Quincy once facility details are finalized,” Prospect League Commissioner David Brauer said. “With a rich history in this league and its predecessor, the Central Illinois Collegiate League, Quincy is positioned for success as a strong market moving forward.”

Brauer said Golden Rule Entertainment’s Quincy franchise is taking the place of the Full Count team in the league. 

“When you talk about teams and changing hands in this league, it’s not like the Oakland A’s are moving to Vegas,” he said. “It’s almost like it’s a membership. It’s almost like your ticket, your piece of paper or whatever. In essence, (Quincy) is getting Full Count’s position in the league, but it’s not like getting the Full Count staff or anything like that. Full Count is being replaced by Quincy, if that makes sense, but it’s an entirely new team.”

The Prospect League is a wood-bat collegiate league with 18 teams across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. The league boasts nearly 200 alumni in Major League Baseball and more than 800 professional players. Nearly 650,000 fans watched games last summer, breaking a league record.

Brauer said the 2024 schedule will be released soon. Teams for the 2023 season were scheduled for 58 games which started May 31 and ended with the Prospect League Championship Series during the second week of August. Last year’s Major League Baseball Amateur Player Draft featured 25 Prospect League players, including J.J. Wetherholt, who was selected seventh overall by the St. Louis Cardinals. Wetherholt played for the Champion City Kings in 2021.

The Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp of Peru, Ill., won their first Prospect League title in 2024, winning the first two games in a best-of-three series against REX Baseball from Terre Haute, Ind.