Domed golf course proposal get thumbs up from Oswego plan commissioners

Plans to build a 9-hole domed golf course near Route 30 and a proposed 600-plus unit subdivision in Oswego continue to move forward.

At their Sept. 5 meeting, members of the Oswego Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the concept plans of Canada-based Megalodome Golf to construct four 270,000 square foot golf domes that would house the 9-hole golf course along with a practice facility. An 8,000 square-foot clubhouse also is proposed.

Oswego village trustees are set to review the plans later this month. No residents addressed the plans during the meeting.

The proposed golf domes would be 110 feet high.

“This allows for full swing capacity,” Carrie Hansen
, director of planning and government services for Oswego-based Schoppe Design Associates, Inc., told the commission members.

In addition, the domes would incorporate state-of-the-art climate control to maintain perfect playing conditions year-round regardless of the weather outside, along with cutting edge simulation to enhance the realism and overall golf experience by offering real time feedback, “just as a person would experience on an outdoor course,” Hansen said.

The applicant’s website refers to the project as the world’s first indoor golf experience that replicates a real golf course. The project is proposed for 100 acres west of Route 30 and north of Rance Road.

The property currently is unincorporated and zoned agriculture in Will County. Plans also set aside about 34 acres for potential future development and 7.5 acres for stormwater detention.

The domes will be designed to withstand winds of up to 120 mph. The course design is inspired by Arizona’s renowned golf courses, Hansen said.

The facility would be open from 6 a.m. to midnight seven days a week and is expected to attract about 290,000 customers a year. A traffic study will be done “to make sure that we are not overburdening the adjacent roadway systems,” she said.

Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Charlie Pajor voiced concerns about the additional traffic the project would generate. He noted that Route 30 is a two-lane road.

“Today,” Hansen replied. “In the early 2000s, Route 34 was a two-lane road. And when did Route 34 get widened? It’s when all that development happened, when you got the Home Depot coming in and the Dominick’s and the Meijer store and all that. That happened because you reached that nexus of demand. ... Developments like this force that issue.”

Staff differs with the applicant on how much parking is needed for the project. While staff has calculated the number of required spaces at 338, the developer is proposing 674 spaces for the four golf domes and the clubhouse.

“While staff believes this may be too much parking, staff and the applicant will continue to work together to determine the appropriate amount of parking for this unique use,” Oswego Assistant Development Services Director Rachel Riemenschneider said in a memo. “Staff may suggest the applicant plan for phased parking or shared parking with future uses as the golf domes’ parking needs are better understood.”

The domed golf course would be built near a proposed 656-unit subdivision. Oswego Grand Development, LLC. wants to build 125 single-family houses, 243 townhouse units and 288 apartment units as part of its plan, which also includes 32.2 acres of commercial/retail space.

At the Aug. 20 Oswego Village Board meeting, the majority of village trustees voted in favor of the concept plans. Voting “no” was village trustee Kit Kuhrt.

Kuhrt said he was concerned about the project’s density as well as its impact on traffic in the area.

Last year, Yorkville-based Whitetail Ridge Golf Club opened a 70,000-square-foot indoor golf dome just west of Orchard Road on Oswego’s west side.