Chicago Snowballs ready to bring sportstainment baseball to the diamond

The Chicago Snowballs, a new coed 'sportstainment' baseball team, have completed tryouts and rehearsals and will open their inaugural season on May 3 in Chicago; owners say thousands are on a ticket waitlist.

The Chicago Snowballs are a new coed "sportstainment" baseball team preparing for a May 3 season opener in the city. Team organizers held tryouts and have been rehearsing at The Dome at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont. The concept is inspired in part by the Savannah Bananas and by Chicago’s own history of exhibition sports. Owners say a large waitlist has formed as they ready a tour across the Midwest. Key details: - The Snowballs will open their inaugural season May 3 at Kerry Wood Cubs Field in Chicago. - Owners describe the team as a pro coed sportstainment program and say thousands of fans are on a ticket waitlist. - More than 650 people began the application process, about 100 were invited to weeklong tryouts, and the team ultimately drafted 29 players. - The roster includes firefighters, teachers, musicians and others from Chicago and states as far as California and Florida. - Practices blend baseball skills with dance, tumbling and staged elements such as human pyramids; staff include a cheer coach and other performance coaches. - The Snowballs plan a Midwest tour, expect to split into two rival rosters for exhibition-style games, hope to play college and minor-league teams, and are holding another audition next month with an emphasis on recruiting women. Summary: The Snowballs aim to blend performance and baseball to create an entertainment-focused game experience and to tour stadiums across the region. Their inaugural season begins May 3 in Chicago, and the organization will continue auditions next month as it fills a second rival roster.