Efforts are underway to build a 14,000-seat cricket stadium proposed in suburban Chicago, even though the venue has yet to attract any team to play at the site.
ShawLocal.com reports the plans Breybourne Stadium in Oswego, Illinois, has been in the works since 2023 and is now scheduled to open in 2027. The stadium would be based at a 33.48-acre parcel that is currently zoned for manufacturing.
The stadium will not be funded with public money. Paresh Patel, owner of the engineering software firm Chakra360, is behind the stadium and is now seeking private financing together for the project.
“As one might imagine, borrowing and material costs remain high, so it takes quite a bit of capital to get a project of this scope off the ground,” said Oswego Economic Development Director Kevin Leighty.
The stadium would operate from April to October, with cricket matches occurring in the evenings and on weekends. Local residents expressed concerns the venue would create a spike in noise and traffic, and Patel offered to construct a six-foot privacy fence along the west property line.
However, the stadium appears to be moving forward in a “Field of Dreams” scenario – no cricket team has been signed to use the site as its home. Earlier this month, Patel announced an Expression of Interest Submission Window for cricket teams who might be interested in locating to Oswego, with Patel pledging “100 match days offered to organizers bold enough to step forward.” That offer runs through the end of the year, and the stadium will also be made available for tournaments and special one-off events.
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