Stuart Sports Complex Expansion Gets Green Light

Village trustees gave the go-ahead Monday night to the expansion of Stuart Sports Complex.

The Fox Valley Park District’s large central park in the heart of the village, Stuart Sports Complex currently sports 25 full-size soccer fields and four baseball diamonds.

The park district plans to build onto Stuart Sports Complex to the south, constructing 11 new soccer fields (many of which can be used for multiple purposes), four lighted baseball/softball diamonds, a dog park, a picnic area, bike paths, and three new parking lots totaling 630 spaces.

This is a scaled-down version of the original expansion plan, proposed in 2007. That would have seen 16 new soccer fields and eight baseball fields, but with the sinking economy, and the construction of several other fields close to Stuart, the park district revised that strategy earlier this year.

The Stuart proposal accounts for the future extension of Aucutt Road west of Orchard Road, and includes extensions of both Schmidt Drive and Civic Center Avenue. Senior Planner Michael Brown said he was happy to see Aucutt taken into consideration—the eventual buildout of that road, while not in the immediate plans, has been on the village books for some time.

Four of the five trustees present on Monday voted for the expansion. Trustee Bill Keck was absent, and Trustee Andy Kaczmarek voted no. Kaczmarek said he was unhappy with a land swap suggested by the proposal, which would see the village give up land near Route 30 in exchange for Park District land behind the police station.

The specifics of the land swap have not been set in stone, and would be subject to an intergovernmental agreement between the village and the park district. But Kaczmarek said he was concerned the village would be giving up developable land, and not getting the same value in return.

Trustee Stan Bond asked whether any fields in the new Stuart Sports Complex would be free and open for public use. Jeff Palmquist, director of planning, development and grants for the park district, responded that some of the “flex” fields (soccer fields that can be used for other purposes) may be open for youth football and team practices.

Nancy McCaul, executive director of the Fox Valley Park District, said she hopes to have the new Stuart Sports Complex up and running early next year.

“We’ve talked about this for a long time, so it’s good to see it come to fruition,” said Village President Marilyn Michelini. “I’m really excited about it.”