Multi-Sport Complex, Fieldhouse Coming To New Lenox: Mayor

NEW LENOX, IL — A multi-sport complex with baseball and soccer fields, a fieldhouse and a pool is in the planning stages for acreage near Silver Cross Hospital, New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann said Friday.

The Village on Friday announced its plans for the 100 acres at US Route 6 and Cedar Drive, near the hospital and close to I-355. Design is slated to start this year on the complex, which would include eight full-size baseball fields, five soccer fields, two multi-sport fields and a 50,000-square-foot fieldhouse, Baldermann said. The Village will partner with the New Lenox Park District on use of the facility and fields.

The fieldhouse would also include courts for basketball, volleyball and pickleball, as well a main pool with 10 lap lanes, a space for open swimming, splash pad and 10,000-square-foot clubhouse.

The site plan for this location has over 10 acres of prime real estate dedicated for restaurant/retail/hotel use.

The Village is currently under contract on the land at a price tag of $8.25 million for 103 acres, Baldermann said. The project is estimated to cost $50 to $60 million, including the cost to purchase. Ten acres will be sold off for hotel and restaurant use, he added.

"This incredible sports complex is located at I-355 and I-80, and expects to draw teams from a multi-state area," Baldermann said.

The Village will pay cash for the land purchase, digging into its 13 months' worth of reserves, Baldermann said. It's the second big announcement for New Lenox this week, with the news Thursday of Frankfort's KidsWork Children's Museum moving to a new construction building at the entrance to the Commons. There is no planned tax increase for residents to cover either cost, he said.

The Village's reserves cover the cost of both the purchase of the acres, and the $4 million project to build KidsWork a new facility, Baldermann said.

Design will begin this year, with hopes of having tournament play by 2025.

Baldermann said there is nothing like what they're envisioning for this property for miles.

"You go up and down I-355, and all you see are warehouses," Baldermann said, "because that's what's easiest to sell. We don't want that for New Lenox."

Baldermann is projecting that the village will see revenue from any hotel or restaurant that purchases a portion of the land.

"That's why the Village is taking the lead on this," Baldermann said. "With travel sports being so popular, we know this will be a home run."

Baldermann praised the project in a press conference Friday morning.

"This is what growing, thriving, communities do," he said. "You can sit and hope that something will happen, or you can make something happen."

Location is key, he added.

"This will give our community almost most importantly an opportunity to play, to eat, to recreate, and then come home," he said. "And because of this location ... most of the people that are going to be traveling here will get off of I-355, spend their time in our community, they'll stay in our community, they'll eat in our community, and then they'll get back on 355 and go home, to wherever that may be."

Baldermann called the additions "legacy projects."

"These are the things that make towns great," Baldermann said. "... and to our residents, these are a lot of the things that you've been asking for, and this is a village board and staff that want to deliver for you, so we're happy to do that, and we're excited that you'll be able to continue to call New Lenox a great place to live."