New launch site for Naperville fireworks: Frontier Sports Complex
Fireworks will light up the sky in Naperville this Fourth of July, but from a new location: Frontier Sports Complex.
The city, the Naperville Park District and organizers of The Naperville Salute chose the sprawling south Naperville park as this year's fireworks venue with safety and COVID-19 precautions in mind, saying the space at 3380 Cedar Glade Drive "is best suited to offer a socially responsible" show.
The temporary switch from the traditional launch site in Knoch Park "was made to ensure that we are doing our part to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to residents and visitors who come to enjoy this annual tradition," the three partnering organizations said Friday in a news release.
What would have been the first Naperville Salute festival on July 3 and 4 was canceled because of the coronavirus. But organizers coordinated with the city and park district to hire Melrose Pyrotechnics to keep one element of the planned fest intact and illuminate a fireworks display.
The show is set to run from 9:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, July 4. Viewers are asked to practice social distancing at all times and can watch the show from a large field in the park or from their vehicles. The parking lot at the park includes 906 spaces; another 1,000 are nearby at Neuqua Valley High School, 2360 95th St.
The fireworks also will be shown on a live broadcast by NCTV17. For details about the broadcast, visit www.naperville.il.us/eventinfo the week before the event.
Before the fireworks location was set, Naperville City Council members heard from several residents who hoped the show could stay near the downtown in Knoch Park, where it had taken place for roughly the past three decades in conjunction with the Exchange Club of Naperville's Ribfest.
"Despite the disappointment this decision may bring to some, we are grateful to have found a location that allows us to continue this tradition while ensuring the safety of all participants," the city, park district and Salute organizers said in their statement. "We look forward to The Salute's return to Rotary Hill in 2021 and along with it, the fireworks display."