Renovation of Spartans' Football Field and Track Delayed

Restoration of the Oak Lawn Community High School football field and track is a week behind schedule, D229 Assistant Superintendent Rick Hendricks told the school board at Monday’s committee of the whole meeting.

The school district is waiting on a building permit from the village to begin installing an artificial turf field and re-asphalting the running track before the Oak Lawn Spartans’ first home football game on Aug. 26.

The arrangement is part of an intergovernmental agreement between Dist. 229 and the Village of Oak Lawn to turn a one-acre land parcel over to the village. The village plans to lease the land to Napleton Honda for expansion of the car dealership. In exchange, the car dealership has agreed to build a new artificial turf football field and track for Oak Lawn High School at a cost of approximately $1 million.

The village board approved the at its last meeting, on May 24. Village board members also agreed to extend a business incentive agreement with Napleton by five years, which will enable the village to share 50 percent of projected sales growth with a cap of $750,000.

Hendricks announced that all three parties have to come to an agreement on the terms of the deal and have met with suppliers. Napleton has started meeting with suppliers.

In the meantime, the school district is stuck between the village and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. Before the village will issue a building permit, the village expects the water district to issue a permit for Napleton to add an underground water retention system underneath the new football field.

Hendricks said a letter was forthcoming from the water district waiving the necessity for a permit.

“The letter came out (Tuesday),” Hendricks said on Wednesday. “Normally when you do work of this nature, the MWRD gets involved because they are responsible for storm water retention. Because of the limited nature of the work (the MWRD) wasn’t going to enter the permit.”

Renovation of the football field and track isn’t going to change the existing storm water equipment beneath the field.

“The amount of water that’s going to discharge won’t change,” Hendricks said.

Superintendent Michael Riordan told the school board that despite the delay, the field would be ready for the Spartans’ home opener.

“We can play that first football game without the asphalt on the track,” Riordan said, adding that the two following weeks were away games.