Benet Academy modifies stadium plan after concerns from neighbors

Benet Academy has modified its plan for a new outdoor sports stadium and other athletic improvements ahead of a Lisle Village Board review of the proposal.

Lisle trustees on Monday night got their first look at Benet’s proposal to modernize its Baumgartner-Gilbert Athletic Complex.

While the village’s planning and zoning commission voted 6-1 in November to recommend that Benet be allowed to pursue the project, the school has since revised its plan with several modifications made at the request of neighboring residents, mainly in the adjacent Oak Hill South subdivision.

As part of the revised plan submitted last week, the home grandstand seating has been reduced from 2,000 seats to 1,400 seats.

Other changes to the plan include reducing the height and width of a video scoreboard.

The village board made no decision on the project on Monday. Its review of the plan is expected to continue in March.

If the village approves the project, the work will be done in two phases.

The first phase would include a new synthetic turf football field, a track with a long jump runway and pole vault pit, lighting, home and visitor bleachers and a press box, two scoreboards, a new parking lot, and two storage buildings.

Benet Academy had hoped that the first phase would be ready by the start of the 2026-27 academic year. Benet has played home football games at Benedictine University, located across Maple Avenue from the school, since 2004.

Work planned for the second phase includes the construction of a covered pavilion, a multi-purpose building, and a synthetic field for lacrosse and soccer.

Despite Benet attorney Caitlin Csuk’s contention that a smaller stadium and fewer seats would diminish sound during athletic contests, namely Friday night football, Benet’s neighbors remain doubtful.

During the public comment portion of Monday’s meeting, Oak Hill South residents Mike and Lorraine Krzywosz used a boom box to play band music — with “a snare drum for your enjoyment,” Mike Krzywosz said — to show sound would be louder than the lower decibel levels Csuk suggested for a smaller stadium.

The prospect of lights has been a steady source of discontent for neighbors, including Linda Donahue.

“This isn’t just about a game,” she said. “It’s about the sanctity of my home.”

Others questioned the practicality of having two stadiums with lights in close proximity. Some people, including Trustee Thomas Duffy, questioned why the stadium couldn’t be moved further east.

Benet previously stated that a contract with St. Procopius Abbey, as well as underground infrastructure, prevents stadium construction closer to the corner of Yackley and Maple avenues.

In support of the project, Benet Academy President Bill Myers introduced Redwings athletes Peyton Boatwright, Luke Crowder, Audrey Olejnik, and Cailey O’Hare.

Boatwright, a senior lacrosse player, said she’d played three home games in three seasons.

Crowder, a sophomore football player and Oak Hill South resident, said, “Playing at Benedictine is a privilege, and I thank them for letting us play there. But it doesn’t really feel like at home.”

After more than 2 hours, 15 minutes of resident and trustee discussion, Lisle Mayor Mary Jo Mullen said the two factions should meet with each other and the village, and suspended further public action until “at least the second meeting in March,” scheduled for March 16.

“There has to be a compromise in here,” Duffy said.