Cricket Stadium Officially Coming To Oswego: Board Passes Plan In 4-1 Vote

OSWEGO, IL — It's official: Oswego will be home to a 24,000-seat cricket stadium that will seat more people than Chicago's United Center that's home to the Blackhawks and Bulls.

Trustees and village staff discussed the Breybourne Stadium proposal for almost two hours before officials voted 4-1 to approve the project, including not only the stadium for professional cricket but also a hotel, two restaurants and a members' club.

"Our dream has been heard all across the United States, all across the globe," Paresh Patel, CEO for petitioner Chakra360, LLC, said at Tuesday night's Village Board meeting. "...We started our journey with the Breybourne Cricket Stadium as our dream. Little did we know this dream are dreams of many."

The only new business at the Village Board meeting was an ordinance granting a special use permit for the final and preliminary planned unit development and plat for the stadium to be built on 33.48 acres at the northwest corner of Tuscany Trail and Orchard Road.

Only Trustee Tom Giest voted against the proposed project. Trustee Kit Kuhrt was absent from the meeting.

Patel, an Oswego resident and owner of the land on which the stadium will be built, is heading the development team. He "assembled a first-class team ... who all worked collaboratively to arrive at the design and the proposal before you tonight," Carrie Hansen, director of planning and government services at downtown Oswego agency Schoppe Design Associates, said at the meeting.

Hansen spoke at the meeting on behalf of the petitioner, Chakra360, LLC, to outline the project.

"Why cricket?" Hansen asked. "We've heard a lot of comments about that throughout this process. Cricket is wildly popular throughout the world. It is seen by over 2 billion-plus people worldwide in many countries. There are millions of existing fans already in the U.S. and it is a new and emerging sport in the United States."

Just last month, the International Olympic Committee announced cricket would be an Olympic sport at the 2028 games held in Los Angeles.

Hansen said there are currently more than 300 cricket clubs in the Chicago area.

"It is [Patel's] vision to build this stadium as a world-class facility and bring professional cricket to his hometown," Hansen said. "This facility will broaden the exposure and appeal of the sport at local schools, colleges and the professional level. Locating the facility here will benefit and showcase the Oswego community and the region."

The facility will operate from April to October, and games will last about 3 to 3.5 hours apiece.

"Similar to the Kentucky Derby where we are dressed up and go and watch the Derby, the hats, the roses, that's the environment I want to bring to this," Patel said, noting the members' club would have a dress code of suits for men and dresses for women.

Through a special use permit, the cricket stadium is permitted to be built in the vacant lot since it's zoned as an M1 district for limited manufacturing and has been since 2009. The development will be spread out across five phases:

1. The applicant will construct a field and wicket as well as underground utilities;
2. Will construct south, east and west parking lots, players' clubhouse, berm seating and stormwater facilities. The applicant can also construct the members' clubhouse in this phase;
3. Will construct the members' clubhouse, northern stadium seating and north parking lot;
4. Will construct the first level of the stadium to replace the berm seating;
5. Will construct the second and third levels of the stadium.

As part of the approval, staff prepared an ordinance that will restrict the number of events to 10 for events with an attendance of 6,000 to 13,900 and 3 events with an attendance of 14,000 or more; prohibit tailgating before and after events; and require staff review, Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation and Village Board final approval for phases two through five.

Some roads around the stadium will change as a result of the stadium. The Kendall County Board unanimously voted in September to approve Orchard Road being widened to a five-lane cross-section beginning north of Tuscany Trail and ending south of Galena Road, with a traffic signal installed at Tuscany Trail, Patch reported.

The village has not paid for any formal studies to see what economic benefits the stadium would have, but it would be bringing eyes and people to Oswego, Board members said at the meeting. Traffic, parking and noise studies are required in subsequent phases, so officials also don't currently have exact information about their impact.

"I feel like there's a lot of unknowns with this, and I know we're rolling it out in phases, but once we approve it tonight, how does this affect a bad traffic study or the sound not meeting our village ordinance? When do we say we can't continue this?" Trustee Amy Koven asked.

Village Administrator Dan DiSanto answered, saying it is "a bit unusual ... but what's important to know about that preliminary is you're really saying as long as all these conditions are met, we're putting a stamp of approval on what is shown tonight. And so, the way the ordinance is written, all phases are essentially approved with that big caveat or condition that all these other studies are going to be satisfactory."

In a speech before the Board's vote, Patel vehemently spoke about the growing cricket community in the country and state and pushed for the construction of Breyboune Stadium.

"This is a red, white and blue project; this is America's project," Patel said. "Let us not be divided; let us all come together as one. One goal: to build this stadium for our country, be the leading source and be the source to lead to build that stadium for our country. ... We should not be left behind; let us all come together ... and build this stadium."

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