Pistol Shrimp ‘all in’ on Illinois Valley

Team officials thrilled with community response

After what they called “an unbelievably successful” first summer in Peru, Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp officials say they’re “all in” on the Illinois Valley.

“We’re definitely returning,” Pistol Shrimp general manager June Keeley said. “You couldn’t get us to leave now if you wanted to.”

While there’s no official agreement in place with the city of Peru yet, Pistol Shrimp owner/manager John Jakiemiec is confident that will be settled in time.

“No question, we’re coming back,” Jakiemiec said. “We’re in discussions with the city of Peru on what the use agreement will look like for next year. Everybody wants to get it done, and it will get done. We want to have a chance to breathe at the end of the season and share some metrics with the city. Same from the city’s standpoint. They want a chance to debrief from the city’s perspective.

“I’m very comfortable saying we will be coming back here. We still need to solve what the long-term plan will be, but we’re very confident it will be in some shape in this community.”

Jakiemiec and Keeley both said the community response exceeded their expectations.

“We were so happy being here,” Keeley said. “The outpouring of support from the community has been phenomenal. It’s all about the people. The people we’ve met – the fans, the staff, the host families, sponsors and community groups we’ve partnered with – everybody has been wonderfully supportive and enthusiastic.

“It really feels like we joined a family.”

The Shrimp averaged about 600 fans a game and often drew about 1,000 on weekends and on theme nights.

“The thing that has just overwhelmed us is the support from the community, both the businesses and fans,” Jakiemiec said. “We have a ton of core fans who come almost every night.”

Pistol Shrimp officials also were happy with the food vendors, beer garden and merchandise sales.

“The vendors have been fantastic,” Jakiemiec said. “For the vendors, it was a new experience, not knowing what the average attendance was going to be. They were worried about product spoilage and all that stuff, but it worked out really well. June and her staff have done a great job lining those vendors up. Now we have a bunch of vendors. We had some open dates at the end of the season. Those filled up very quickly once the vendors got comfortable and saw what the scene was. All of our vendors are small businesses from the Illinois Valley. That’s the vibe we wanted to create coming here was a community-based mesh point. From a vendor standpoint, they’ve done well. We’ve been happy with the relationships.”

Keeley said the host family program went well and the team will need more families next season not only for players but for interns, as well.

“The host families really stepped up and not only provided a warm bed for the players but kept them fed and really welcomed them into their homes and lives,” Keeley said. “The players don’t have a lot of free time, but in the free time they had they got ingrained in family activities. We had two players with a family whose grandchildren who were on an all-star team. The boys were helping them out, went to games and were wearing all-star team shirts. It’s really heart warming to see them building those relationships. Some of the host families said they plan to visit their players at college and continue that relationship. A few have asked to have the same player next year if they return. We already have some new families signed up for next year. We’ll need a lot. We’re excited about that.”

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE?

In the offseason, Pistol Shrimp officials will work with Peru officials to determine what improvements will be made at Veterans Park.

Jakiemiec said he’s submitted a list to the city with the No. 1 priority being resodding the infield grass to restore it to regulation size

He’d also like to see permanent stands installed as well as some smaller projects such as fixing the pipe behind the pitcher’s mound used to water the field.

“We’ve submitted an A to Z wish list to the city of things we’d like done to the field, both on the playing surface and outside the field,” Jakiemiec said. “It’s just a matter of what the city is able to budget for and what they want to get done.”

On the field, Jakiemiec said fans likely will see some familiar faces next summer.

“I think fans can expect at least half of our team will be back, if not more,” Jakiemiec said. “Life happens, and coaches will send them where they send them, but I know from talking to the players how many want to come back and we would welcome back. Will Worthington and Keyshawn Ogans, those guys want to come back. They’re really good players who have enjoyed their summers immensely.

“I think putting the roster together will happen pretty quickly because a lot of these kids will be back, which will be great for team chemistry and great for our fan base because they’re already familiar with a lot of the players. We’re excited about that.”

As far as the fan experience, Jakiemiec said he doesn’t anticipate charging an admission fee next season.

“From an infrastructure standpoint, you’d have to spend a lot of money to fence in the facility,” Jakiemiec said. “When you really start to look at it, I don’t think it’s realistic.”

Keeley said she and her staff have learned from the first season and hope to make the fan experience even better next summer.

“We basically had 2 ½ months to put this together in a new area where we didn’t know anyone or have any relationships already, and I think it turned out pretty successful,” Keeley said. “Now we have the luxury of having almost a full year to plan. We have the knowledge of what worked and what didn’t, how we can streamline things and how we can make the experience even better for fans and staff. We expect to have as many or more theme nights next year. We’re learning how to do things better. It will definitely be bigger and better. We look forward to being back.”