ROSEMONT (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Things are a buzz inside Impact Field, as a baseball stadium transforms into a winter wonderland for the holidays.
"It's one of our favorite projects. Obviously, the Dogs are number one, but this is a great winter compliment to baseball," said Shawn Hunter, Chicago Dogs Owner, who unexpectedly got into the holiday attraction business during the offseason.
Hunter has made a career in professional sports.Before the Dogs, he was president of the Phoenix Coyotes.
A worker puts the final touches of Impact Field's Sparkle Lights Festival.Lisa Fielding
"I never thought I'd get into this kind of holiday attraction specialty, but I'm so glad to be here," he laughed.
Hunter is like a kid in a candy store as he showed off the annual project that's now in its third year.
"We have almost two million lights spread across the complex," Hunter noted. "Two of our favorites are back. One, the Alpine Slide which is one of the biggest and fastest slides in the region and our train, which everyone loves. New this year is an ice skating rink."
"We work on it year round. We actually start planning it in October. We lay protective flooring on the field. It's about a 30-day process. It comes down a lot quicker," he laughed.
The Alpine Slide is one of the Sparkle Light Festival's most popular attractions.Sparkle Light Festival
Hunter said three major league ballparks have already been doing this for the last few years.
"There are only a handful of ballparks who do this around the country, only a few major league stadiums and only a couple minor league stadiums," Hunter said. "We had the advantage of studying this for a couple of years, and COVID. We are now putting on our own special touches on what is now Sparkle."
The Sparkle Light Festival opens Friday, Nov. 17 and will run through Dec. 31.
"Some people who come to the park just for the light festival and don't know that we play baseball have no idea it's a baseball stadium because it's a complete transformation," Hunter said. " It's unbelievable but it's been great to see baseball fans come out to support, and we've created some new baseball fans who come out to see the lights."
This year's Sparkle Light Festival has a completely redesigned layout. Matt Zuro
General admission tickets for adults will be available for $24 and $18 for children, ages two through 12. Tickets to the tubing hill are separate. Premium ticket packages and add-on experiences are also available.
Tickets are available at sparklerosemont.com.
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