MCC boss: Forget new stadium

It's not quite a case of "I told you so," but it's pretty close.

McHenry County College President Walt Packard recommended Tuesday night that trustees scrap plans to build the controversial Health, Wellness and Athletic Complex and baseball stadium, something a pair of trustees had been urging officials to do for months.

Now, trustees will likely vote on whether to terminate the project in April, officials said.

"This does not appear to be a time where we could bring that plan to fruition," Packard said. "I think we need to take a step back."

Packard made his comments after a $10,000 assessment of a feasibility study noted the study had overstated the complex's money-making abilities and that entities typically get into these type of ventures with the expectation that they will not be profitable.

The assessment, conducted by Economics Research Associates, also noted that the stadium would enjoy reasonable crowds for the first few years, but that attendance would gradually taper off.

Even so, board Chairman George Lowe isn't ready to eliminate the concept entirely.

"The HWAC hasn't gone away. We still need it. We still need those facilities," he said. "Our needs have not gone away."

The school's plans to build the $30 million stadium and complex have been on hold ever since the Crystal Lake city council rejected them last fall.

Before that vote, MCC trustees Scott Summers and Donna Kurtz spoke out against the plans, although they had initially voted to support it.

They came under fire for their actions and were eventually censured, a move Summers now finds curious, given the school's change of heart.

"I will note with no small amount of irony that six month ago, two trustees were censured for the exact same position that Dr. Packard is now taking," Summers said.

Kurtz took the high road, saying it's best that everyone put the entire episode behind them.

"You know, it's just water under the bridge," she said.