The setting was as spectacular as any Norman Rockwell painting.

Underneath an enormous tent, which had been pitched to provide some relief from the stifling heat, were youngsters from Marion's summer league baseball and softball teams decked out in their colorful uniforms and singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."

There were blue skies above with a smattering of pillow-like clouds and a cavern cut out of the earth immediately north of the tent where a new baseball stadium will soon stand, as well as a clear view of a blue stream not far beyond the soon-to-be constructed outfield wall.

Dennis Poshard described the day as a "historic day for Southern Illinois and Southern Illinois sports fans."

Poshard is a spokesman with the Southern Illinois Baseball Group, which made it official Wednesday that the group has signed an agreement to purchase an expansion team in the Frontier League effective the 2007 season.

"Today is a major milestone of turning a dream into a reality," Poshard said. "We've come a long way in the last year. There are no more overgrown rolling hills that used to be strip mines. The infrastructure has been laid. Streets have been built. The fruits of our investment are finally starting to pay off and I want to thank everyone for their hard work and effort."

Gov. Rod Blagojevich said he was "delighted" to be in Marion, soon to be the home of a professional baseball team.

"We were committed to build this stadium and have baseball here in Marion," he said. "It's so personally gratifying and rewarding to me and others who believe in the American dream. There is great baseball tradition here."

The governor then shocked the crowd when he announced the state would be kicking in an additional $1 million to the project, increasing the state's total contribution to $4 million. The previous $3 million was used for infrastructure.

Making the baseball analogy of waving off the catcher's sign, Blagojevich said the added grant money was the right thing to do for the right project despite any protests to the contrary.

"We spent $600 million for the Bears football stadium in Chicago, so I think this ($4 million) is a small price to pay."

Blagojevich said whether or not he is re-elected, he will be proud to have done something to bring baseball to a part of the state that needed it.

"This ballpark is very special to me," he said.

Frontier League Commissioner Bill Lee said he was very much impressed with the turnout Wednesday and predicts nothing but success for the Marion franchise.

"We all know how great this is going to be," Lee said. "The people of Southern Illinois are going to have a lot of fun coming to the games. I kind of look at it like a dinner theater and the game is the floor show."

Rich Sauget, owner of the Gateway Grizzlies in Sauget and president of the Frontier League, said Southern Illinoisans' quality of life will most definitely improve with the addition of a pro baseball league.

"It's all about entertainment value and creating economic development opportunities," he said. "Before long, there will be a cluster of businesses around the stadium."

Marion Mayor Bob Butler was all smiles at the formal announcement Wednesday.

"We're proud and pleased to have this team here in Marion," he said. "And no area deserves it more than we do."

Butler said he is confident Frontier League baseball will help bring new business into the city and help create more jobs.

"This is a harbinger of things to come," Butler said. "A new day is dawning for Marion and our area."

John A. Logan College baseball coach and athletic director Jerry Halstead said he looks forward to the time when his team will get to play some games at the new stadium, perhaps as early as next April.

"It will be a great recruiting tool for me," he said. "It's very exciting to have a pro baseball team in your own backyard. It could be a good learning experience. You can never learn enough."

Halstead added that several of his former players have landed jobs in the Frontier League in recent years.

"And the attendance statistics in the league are phenomenal," he said. "A couple of the teams average over 4,000 per game. That speaks volumes about the interest in the games. I think it will be popular here, too. I sure hope people will support it because there are a lot of great things for kids to do besides watch the game."

Perhaps State Sen. Gary Forby summed it up best when speaking of the impact a pro baseball team will have on Southern Illinois.

"This will be great for tourism here; tourism is our factory," he said. "This project will help put people to work and will give others something else to do in the summer."

john.homan@thesouthern.com

(618) 351-5056