Orland Park officials are taking a long look at turning the old Riviera Country Club property into a sports facility.
At the March 3 Committee of the Whole meeting, there was a long discussion about hiring a consulting firm to study the feasibility of what can be done with that land.
Riviera closed in 2021 and has been vacant ever since.
“It’s becoming a blighted eyesore,” Trustee John Lawler said.
Possibilities for the 107,000 square-foot site include a field house, indoor playground, a children’s museum, a splash pad, an area for seniors and many other wish-list items.
Mayor James Dodge said that the site will not be able to accommodate all of the items on the list but a thorough study, with emphasis on public input, is needed in the coming months before any decisions are made.
Critics scoff that there is not a need for another sports facility because the village has one with the Sportsplex on the west side of town.
Parks and Recreation Director Ray Piattoni stressed that the potential new facility would offer different services and could be used more for training than recreation.
“People are wondering why we need this,” Lawler said. “I’ve heard from a lot of people with different opinions on this,” Lawler said. “If you talk to the sports people, they want a sports training facility as they always have to leave Orland Park to go take their kid to get trained somewhere.
“It would be nice to have that in this town.”
He added that he has talked to some older residents who wished that there was a pool on the east side of town. He also talked to young parents who wanted an indoor play facility for their children in the winter.
“People on the southwest side of Orland Park might say ‘oh, you don’t really need this,’’’ Lawler said. “But the drive time for the people on the Northeast side…I drove from 135th and 80th Avenue all the way out to Sportsplex to see how long it would take.
“It was during rush hour traffic in the evening and it took well over 20 minutes so I can understand why some of these parents don’t utilize Sportsplex.”
He hopes the studies will bear fruit.
“It will be interesting to see if the town of Orland Park, which has about 60,000 residents as we grow, can support two Sportsplexes,” Lawler said. “Hopefully we can.”
Trustee Michael Milani’s instincts are against the idea but he is willing to listen.
“I haven’t been a fan of going after this property and possibly developing this into anything, let alone a sports facility,” he said. “But this study gives you the opportunity to change my mind.
“I think there is good thought going into this.”
Piattoni said the village will also conduct studies about the athletic fields in the village and the possibility of using turf fields.
The village will evaluate Edge Skate Park on the north side of Centennial Park, which Piattoni says is being underused.