Sports Center Looks Like A Go On Old Willow Road

Paddle ball courts and an indoor soccer field, among other facilities, may soon be taking shape on Old Willow Road in Northbrook as part of a new sports center planned for the area. 

The village’s board of trustees gave a nod of approval to the sports center at a meeting last week, following review by the plan commission two weeks ago.  

“I think it’s a beautiful addition to the community,” said trustee Kathryn Ciesla. Other trustees said they were excited about taking their kids to the sports center once the facility was built. 

Partners Ken Knebelkamp and Brian Loftin (who owns a Sports Zone in Melrose Park) plan to construct the multi-sport, indoor recreation center on Old Willow Road between Shermer Road and Patriot Boulevard.  The center will offer league play for kids and adults in lacrosse, soccer, football and paddleball, among other sports, with a separate section of the center devoted entirely to paddleball courts. Plans call for some 191 parking spaces.

While members of the plan commission were concerned that there might be too many parking spaces when they reviewed the application in October, most members of the board of trustees worried that there might be too few. 

“What’s going to happen on a Sunday morning when you have 16 teams waiting to play?” said trustee Michael Scolaro. Others agreed that parking would be at a premium for the sports center, which would offer some of the only paddleball courts within several nearby suburbs.  

Scolaro also noted that the sports center could bring a significant amount of traffic to the area. Members of the plan commission had suggested that it might be worth making the cost of installing a left-turn lane on southbound Shermer Road a part of the deal. 

According to Lawrence Freedman, attorney for the Knebelkamp and Loftin, a left-turn lane could cost approximately $200,000. The partners paid a consultant to study traffic flow in the area, but their data was affected by the fact that the Illinois Department of Transportation had been blocking part of Old Willow Road when they did the study. Freedman said that once Old Willow Road was cleared, they observed that there was significantly less traffic in the area of the proposed sports center. 

At Tuesday night’s board meeting, trustees decided that the developers should pay for a left-turn lane in advance, but that it should only be constructed if the village decided it was necessary. If not, the money would be returned to the developers.   

While most trustees were favorable to the project, trustee A.C. Buehler said he believed a sports center wasn’t the right use for the area, which is currently zoned for single-family residences. There is one vacant home on the site, and another one nearby, but the rest of the immediate area is devoted to corporate and industrial uses. He suggested that any new construction in the area should be fit in with its surroundings better.

“I don’t see this as anything compatible with what we have going in,” Buehler said. “It’s a wonderful plan in the wrong place.”

While Buehler voted against the sports center, the rest of the board of trustees voted in favor, directing village staff to prepare documents for a final review and vote at an upcoming meeting.

“The board was very supportive,” Knebelkamp said after last week’s meeting. “It’s going to be a great thing for the community.”

The developers must also seek approval for a liquor license for the facility, which would serve alcohol in the private paddle clubs, at a concession stand and in a gymnasium that doubles as a banquet area.

Trustees Buehler and Scolaro were both concerned about a possible mixture of rowdy sports fans and alcohol from a concession stand. But trustee Todd Heller disagreed.

“I have no problem with liquor in an adult arena so long as proper measures are taken,” he said. “It’s part of our culture, it’s part of sporting culture.” 

The developers must submit a separate application to obtain a liquor license, which  goes before President Sandra Frum, who also serves as Northbrook’s liquor commissioner.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the sports center would offer hockey.