Gurnee to pay $48,000 for youth sports complex study
Gurnee will pay a consultant $48,000 to study whether a 35-acre parcel just south of Six Flags Great America is a good site for a youth sports-centered development.
The consultants, Florida-based Sports Facilities Advisory, will produce a detailed financial forecast, including how much developing the site might cost and how much money a company could make once everything is built.
Mayor Kristina Kovarik said the fee is money well-spent.
"This gives us the ability to go to the private sector, the private investment market and say here's what we'd like to see, which is very attractive to developers," Kovarik said.
Economic Development Director Ellen Dean said because the village budget is so highly driven by sales and amusement taxes, Gurnee needs to keep its options fresh. Dean said village officials believe there is a sports tourism market that hasn't been fully tapped into and that the consultants will help confirm that.
Several local youth sports leaders spoke in support of the plan, including many in the ice hockey community.
Lindenhurst resident Walter Delaney, of the Lakers Hockey Club, said youth hockey has grown exponentially and the demand for ice time has grown with it, leading to a shortage. He said if a new sports complex ended up being built with ice rinks, fewer local teams would have to travel to southern Wisconsin.
"Why throw all that money to Wisconsin?" Delaney said.
Kovarik, a proponent of the plan, said she heard from many others about the need for ice rinks in the area.
"This is exactly why we're hiring a consultant, to validate that and bear it out," Kovarik said. "Is it truly sustainable (for) five years, 10 years, 15 years? The worst thing we could do is go down this path and then the next board and the next mayor is like, 'What were they thinking of?'"
The triangular parcel that will be studied is mostly farmland. It is bordered by Washington Street, Milwaukee Avenue and Interstate 294 across Washington Street.
The board this week voted 4-0 in favor of hiring the consultant. Trustee Greg Garner was absent, and Trustee Thomas Hood abstained from voting.