Proposal for Sterling multisports complex back in action

STERLING – Larry Ybarra is not a man to easily give up on his field of dreams.

The 72-year-old former Newman Central Catholic High School baseball coach, now an assistant coach, is resurrecting his proposal to build a sports complex along Lynn Boulevard, an idea he first proposed in 2006.

This time, though, plans call for a much bigger presence, a multimillion-dollar, multisports, multiuse site with not only athletic, but also commercial and residential components.

It’s that diversity that Alderman Jim Wise believes investors will find attractive in a project that also could launch a robust development of all that open space on that northwest end of Sterling, from Lynn Boulevard to Locust Street, north to the Science Ridge Road area.

Although he had the blessing of the city’s Plan Commission, Ybarra’s first dream stalled in early 2014, when, after annexation of the land hit a procedural roadblock and, thanks in part to the Great Recession, he ran into problems getting investors.

He sold that 21-acre site, in the 500 block of West Lynn, behind Kroger, in January 2021, but he never lost sight of his goal.

Ybarra recently was inspired to have another go at it when he ran into Wise at a Knights of Columbus dinner, and the alderman suggested the appeal a larger, more diverse project might have for investors.

“That might help push it over the hill,” Wise said in an interview Monday. “It’s a great opportunity.”

This time, Ybarra plans to build across the street, on the north side of Lynn at Oak Grove Avenue, and on double the amount of space: 40 acres between Elkhorn Creek/Hermit’s Lake and the YMCA.

The land is owned by Peggy Koster of Sterling, widow of Russell Koster, whose farming family, including son Daniel, operate Sauk Valley Co-op.

The Kosters are in talks with Ybarra about purchasing the land, Daniel Koster said.

As now imagined, the sports complex, which would be built in phases, would provide a stadium for football, track and soccer tournaments, a 3,000-seat baseball stadium, softball fields, batting cages, an airdome and a multipurpose building – a training and workout facility that local schools, especially nearby Newman, also could use, Ybarra said.

In fact, the football stadium finally could provide a home for the Comets, who have a practice field behind the school but must play their home games at Sterling High School’s Roscoe Eades Stadium.

“A lot of people think it’s time for Newman to have a space to call their home field,” Wise said, adding with a chuckle that the school’s alumni would be “heavily targeted” as potential investors.

Ybarra, himself a 1969 Newman High grad, needs about $8 million to get the project off the ground, and $15 million to $20 million to bring it all the way home, he said.

The hope is to have the football stadium built in time for the 2026-27 season, Wise said.

Ybarra plans to create a nonprofit, which would help with donations, low-interest loan and grant applications, and set up a board.

He also is working on a business plan with the Illinois Small Business Development Center at Sauk Valley Community College.

Once the land is bought, it would need to be annexed into city limits and properly zoned.

Then the city would be able to help the development along by installing utilities and providing property tax abatements, rebates and other economic incentives, including, perhaps, creating a business development district, Wise said.

The city easily could recoup its investment, said Ybarra, who always has seen the sports complex as a major economic attraction – a site for tournaments, sports camps, even marching band contests that would bring hordes of out-of-town fans who also would dine, shop and spend the night.

“We could have tournaments every weekend if we wanted to,” he said, estimating that the complex could bring 8,000 to 10,000 people at a time.

“The whole object of the sports complex is to bring people into Sterling from outside the area.”

Wise said he also sees that relatively undeveloped area as rife for businesses such as restaurants and hotels to cater to those visitors, and for providing space for much-needed new housing, the creation of which is one of the city’s top priorities.

To learn more

Larry Ybarra also is a longtime financial representative for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance. Those interested in learning more about the sports complex, including investment opportunities, can reach him at 815-535-1231, or at his office at 1811 E. Fourth St. in Sterling.