Massive Cricket Stadium, Hotel Proposed For Oswego

OSWEGO, IL — A 24,000-seat cricket stadium is proposed to be built on 33.48 acres of land in Oswego, documents show.

The proposed Breybourne Stadium would be built at the northwest corner of Orchard Road and Tuscany Trail — a largely residential area near the Blackberry Knoll subdivision just west of the Fox River.

Plans include developing an outdoor professional cricket stadium with an associated clubhouse and restaurant, as well as a hotel and restaurant outlots fronting the Orchard Road corridor, according to a letter sent to neighboring residents obtained by Patch.

According to the preliminary site plan attached to the letter, the stadium would also provide more than 1,100 parking spaces, plus another 91 for the member's clubhouse, 140 for the restaurant and another 140 for the 120-room hotel.

In comparison, other popular stadiums in the Chicago area, including United Center and Soldier Field, have a capacity of 23,500 and 61,500 people, respectively.

"This is such an odd project for our village," Lorie Witzel, an Oswego resident, told Patch. "Unfortunately, it's directly in my backyard. I'm doing everything I can to get the word out. [It] seems hardly anyone was aware, and they haven't notified many people other than those of us who are on the property line with this."

Chakra360, LLC, a consulting group petitioning the Village of Oswego, is fronting the project. CEO Paresh Patel, an Oswego resident who would "love to bring the project to my village," told Patch most of the cricket-playing population is within an hour of the proposed venue.

If the stadium comes to life, Patel said executives will focus on bringing national and international events to the venue in addition to cricket matches.

The consulting agency worked with Schoppe Design Associates, an Oswego company that specializes in land planning and landscape architecture, to create the preliminary site map. Representatives from Schoppe did not respond to Patch's request for comment at the time of publication.

"We want to have a heavy local presence … to bring this project to fruition," Patel said.

Information and plans for a proposed stadium will be discussed with residents at an Aug. 24 meeting at the Oswego Public Library, staff confirmed with Patch.

The meeting will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. in the second-floor meeting room at the Oswego Public Library, 32 W. Jefferson St. The library's website only shows the room is unavailable in the time frame.

Assistant Library Director Krista Katzen and Library Director Sarah Skilton confirmed the meeting and said it was booked by Chakra360 as a way to give residents more information about the proposed development.

The informational meeting is the first step in the process to bring the stadium to Oswego, Patel said. The project will then be brought before the village's Planning and Zoning Commission Sept. 7, and locals will have another chance to share their opinions about the project, according to Bridget Bittman, the village's communications manager.

"The meeting on August 24 is not a public meeting that is hosted by the Village of Oswego, nor will Village staff be present," she told Patch in an email.

Development Services Director Rod Zenner did not respond to Patch's request for comment.