April 3, 2017: Crystal Lake, Illinois – Shortly after wrapping up their ultimately disappointing 2016 campaign, hordes of construction crews descended on Gnat Field in Crystal Lake to begin the process of adding an additional 3,000 seats to the left field concourse. With only hours to go before opening day across the PEBA, those crews have put the finishing touches on the expansion, and the ‘Gnats stadium now ranks among the largest in the league trailing only the parks in Florida, Aurora, and New Jersey in terms of number of seats.

“Given the demand for tickets last year, the management team decided it would be in our best interests to go ahead and complete the expansion we had planned for 2019 ahead of schedule,” said team owner Larry Ellison as he toured the new left field concourse yesterday afternoon. “And the organization remains committed to providing entertainment value to local residents, as no ticket in the new left field concourse will be more expensive than $12.” Among the features of the freshly renovated left field area, fans will find an additional ribbon board for in-game stats and out of town scores, along with the corporate sponsored GooTube+ viewing experience. The new GooTube+ area will feature eight 60-inch LED televisions broadcasting action from around the PEBA along with interactive kiosks where fans can access statistics, highlight reels of their favorite PEBA stars, and the most recent news from across the league. “We expect fans seated everywhere in the stadium will now make the pilgrimmage over to the GooTube+ viewing area to watch action before and after the game,” said Ellison as he showed off the high-tech passage to a host of reporters.  “We continue to look for additional ways to give our fans, and fans of the PEBA, avenues to make their stadium experience better than ever.”  To go along with the new section, Gnat Field will now open a full 3 hours prior to first pitch, and remain open for 3 hours following the final out, for fans to enjoy out of town games at the GooTube+ section. The area will also feature a high-speed escalator which runs to the ground level for easy entry and exit of the park.

Following a year in which the Sandgnats achieved their highest ever attendance figure (3,771,873 fans went through the turnstiles at Gnat Field last season), the Sandgnats also revealed plans to add additional seating in the coming seasons to the right field concourse — as well as building a new parking garage beyond the right field walls to accommodate the increased vehicular traffic to and from the stadium. While Ellison remained mum on the details of the planned future expansion, he did indicate that the team was looking for additional ways to bring new technology, similar to the GooTube+ section, to the updated areas of the park: “Sandgnats management is committed to providing our fans with a first rate gameday experience. As technology continues to make exponential gains every year, our fans look forward to enjoying those new experiences when they come to the park. Future seasons will see new and exciting additions to Gnat Field which will continue to make catching a live game in Crystal Lake an unparallelled experience!”

Fans will have their first opportunity to visit the newly updated Gnat Field on April 7th before the Sandgnats take on their Sovereign League nemesis Aurora Borealis. Gates open at 9 am prior to this year’s home opener.