Spring’s heavy rains force Oak Brook to cancel 2011 polo matches

Is polo losing its cachet in Oak Brook?

The princely sport undoubtedly contributes to Oak Brook’s upscale image, but village leaders aren’t sure how many residents actually want to watch the matches.

Now — with polo canceled due to playing field conditions for the second year in a row — seems like a good time to ask.

“There are some people that are passionate about it,” said Village Manager Dave Niemeyer, “and there are some people that will say, ‘That’s Oak Brook’s past,’”

The village included a question on polo in a wide-ranging survey sent to residents earlier this summer, asking if they would attend if polo is reinstated.

“One of the challenges when polo was going on is attendance was not what was back in its heyday, the Prince Charles days,” Niemeyer said.

For decades, watching Sunday afternoon polo games was a genteel pastime in Oak Brook, once home to the largest polo facility in the U.S.

But eventually, polo became a money-losing proposition for the village. The last real season was in 2008.

“We’ve been trying to look at reinstating a few exhibition matches the last couple of years, but Mother Nature has not been cooperative,” Niemeyer said.

Last year, torrential August rains forced the village to cancel four exhibition games that were scheduled to be played on the driving range of the Oak Brook Golf Club.

This year, the heavy spring rains left the driving range in no shape to handle the galloping of heavy horses. The village estimated it would cost $20,000 to repair the field.

“We want to break even (with polo),” Niemeyer said. “With the weather in the spring and the cost to get it to an acceptable and safe playing level for polo players, we can’t do it this year.”

Butler National Golf Club, which leases the village’s original polo fields, has installed “target greens” with hills that make the driving range more like playing on a real course, but unplayable for polo. Allowing Butler to add the special greens resulted in additional revenue for the village.

Village officials will have a clearer idea of where to go with the sport of kings when they hear back from residents.

“We’ll see what kind of interest we get in the survey and have some discussion with the board,” Niemeyer said.