McHenry Co. moves to help pair of sports complexes
A key McHenry County Board committee endorsed measures Tuesday to help a pair of multimillion-dollar sports projects obtain financing that will improve both concepts' chances of becoming reality.
The board's finance and audit committee voted 6-1 to move along a resolution allocating $18 million in federal bonding authority to McHenry County Sportsplex LLC, money that will finance a portion of a $40 million plan for an athletic complex near routes 47 and 176 in Lakewood.
By the same vote, the committee agreed to make another $15 million of financing available to EquityOne Sports Development, the group behind a proposal to build a $15 million baseball stadium in Woodstock that would serve as home to a minor league team known as the McHenry County K-Nines.
In neither case is the county lending the money itself or putting itself on the hook to repay the bonds should either company default. Instead, it would be granting the developers access to bonds issued by private lenders, but subsidized through the federal economic stimulus bill to keep interest low.
Both resolutions go before the full county board next week for a final vote.
"We're talking about bringing $50 million in projects to McHenry County at a time when McHenry County could use the economic development," said finance committee Chairman Marc Munaretto. "So I would hope that it will pass (the full board)."
Committee member John Hammerand cast the lone "no" vote on both projects, saying neither side had done enough to disclose its ownership interests or show that they would produce quality jobs for county residents.
Louis Tenore, CEO of McHenry County Sportsplex LLC, was grateful Tuesday for the county support of a project that includes a 125,000-square-foot indoor sports facility and multiple athletic fields on a 180-acre site north of Huntley.
"It's an important step in a series of important steps needed to happen for us to continue moving forward," he said.
If the plan wins approval from the village of Lakewood, Tenore said, groundbreaking could happen late this year with a target completion date of 2012 at the latest.
The finance committee initially agreed to issue the company bonding authority in December, but withheld forwarding the measure to the full county board until the developers proved it owned the site of the proposed complex.
The county currently does not have enough bonding authority to meet EquityOne's $15 million request, but hopes to receive additional authority through the state later this summer. If that happens, the money would arrive in time to break ground this year and get the stadium completed for Opening Day 2011.
If not, EquityOne President Mark Houser said, the developer will have to decide whether to take a chance on building while still waiting on the financing.
"If we have to wait until October, it certainly is going to affect the timing of our project," Houser said. "It will be our call whether we want to start construction and hope the funding is extended."