Oswego seeking state grant to help fund outdoor amphitheater project

An unscientific, online survey conducted by the village of Oswego earlier this year found support for additional live music performances in the area.

The village posted the survey on its website and on its Go Oswego economic development website from Feb. 7 through April 22 as part of the planning for the development of an outdoor amphitheater proposed for construction on a three-acre parcel donated to the village immediately west of the Oswego Junction shopping center, at the northwest corner of Orchard and Mill roads.

In a report to the Village Board, Dan Di Santo, village administrator, noted that 495 people responded to the survey, including 90% who identified as village residents. A total of 6% of the respondents identified as Montgomery residents.

The survey also found that 75% of the respondents indicated they are likely to attend a community festival in a given year, while 60% had been to an outdoor venue in a neighboring suburb in the past year.

A total of 41% of the respondents indicated they are satisfied with the current offering of events and performances in the village.

The board’s fiscal 2021 budget includes a $750,000 line item to pay for the construction of the amphitheater and the adjoining site.

The board voted in October to accept the donation from Kevin Fialko, owner of Oswego Junction. Under terms of the donation agreement, the village is required to develop a “venue for outdoor live performance and music entertainment and events to be enjoyed by the public” on the site within three years.

The village’s project schedule calls for construction to start on the amphitheater in October with a target completion date of May 15, 2021.

In his report, Di Santo said the village is planing to host an open house on the project this summer.

Di Santo, however, noted the COVID-19 pandemic will impact the staging of the open house.

A date for the open house has yet to be set, but he noted “the current plan is to hold an open house in the lobby of Village Hall following social distance and gathering recommendations from the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

In April, the board voted, 4-2, to hire Williams Architects of Itasca at a cost not to exceed $72,000 to prepare designs for the venue.

Board members Pam Parr and Luis Perez voted against the measure, citing cost concerns and the financial fallout from the pandemic.