Caterpillar names Peoria baseball stadium “Dozer Park”

Updated May 14, 2013

In what has to be one of the most unique names for a ballpark to date, Caterpillar has named the baseball stadium in its hometown of Peoria, Illinois  “Dozer Park,” according to a report from the town’s paper the Journal Star.

The ballpark is the home of the Peoria Chiefs minor league baseball team, a farm club of the St. Louis Cardinals. The park opened in 2002 and for the past five years, Chiefs officials have been searching for a corporate partner for naming rights to the stadium, according to the Star.

“The company was founded on the bulldozer,” Jim Baumgartner, Cat’s Director of Corporate Affairs said in a prepared statement. “We wanted to choose something that represents Caterpillar’s heritage but also represents Peoria. This is our hometown, and it’s the region where we’ve made tractors since the company’s inception.”

Caterpillar purchased the 10-year naming rights to the stadium for $2 million. The company is currently working on graphics for the park’s new signage and the team hopes to have those new signs up by the end of June.