Travel baseball program, youth badminton academy to open in Lake Zurich industrial park
The Lake Zurich village board approved plans for two youth sports businesses to open in the village's industrial park.
The Lake County Stars Baseball Program and the Chicago Badminton Academy, both approved this week, are expected to set up shop about a mile apart from one another at 363 Enterprise Parkway and 570 Telser Road, respectively.
The Lake County Stars Baseball Program will use a 14,480-square-foot portion of the existing 47,864-square-foot industrial building on Enterprise Parkway for indoor practice and training purposes.
The travel baseball program was formed in 2008 and previously operated elsewhere in Lake Zurich. The program has 21 teams for children age 9 to 17.
No games or tournaments are proposed at the facility, which will operate primarily from October to April and be relatively dormant during the summer when the teams are playing on ball fields.
The Chicago Badminton Academy will use a 14,272-square-foot portion of an existing 69,916-square-foot industrial building on Telser Road that will be set up with six badminton courts as well as office space.
The Chicago Badminton Academy is a new company, and owner Jimmy Sun said he chose Lake Zurich because of the number of students in the area.
"I think most people here aren't familiar with badminton, and I think we need a badminton sports center to let people know," said Sun, who lives in Hawthorn Woods. "It's not just a fun game; it's an Olympic sport."
Is it a coincidence that two youth sports businesses were before the board for approval at the same village board meeting? According to the village staff, yes.
"There is no other relationship between the two businesses, other than they are uses related to sports and recreation," said Sarosh Saher, the village's community development director, in an email.
Saher said the village staff is reviewing final paperwork for both businesses, but he did not have a timeline of when the businesses would open.