Agricultural land that Oswego officials hope will accommodate parking for a future Metra train station and the village-owned amphitheater Venue 1012 will continue to be farmed for the time being.

The village owns about 19.4-acres (previously 15 before a recent land swap) of property on the north side of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks, west of Orchard Road.

At the Nov. 18 Oswego Village Board meeting, village trustees approved a new contract with Creekside Farms, LLC.

The land would also provide overflow parking for a cricket stadium being proposed in the area.

Under the terms of the agreement, Creekside is responsible for all costs associated with planting and harvesting all crops, Oswego Village Administrator Dan Di Santo said.

In return for the use of the land, Creekside must pay the village 30% of the total gross sales of the crops.

“Staff estimates the revenue to the village will be approximately $1,000 to $2,500 per year,” Di Santo said.

The contract is in effect through Dec. 31. Di Santo said the contract was mistakenly not signed at the beginning of 2025, even though Creekside farmed the land this year.

The village is already working on a contract with Creekside for next year, he said.

There has been much discussion about extending the Metro commuter rail service on the BNSF line from the Aurora Transportation Center into Kendall County. Extending Metra commuter rail service into Kendall County would require construction of a third, new main track west of ATC.

There are currently only two main tracks on the BNSF system line in Kendall County.

The total proposed extension is 20 miles, with stations proposed in Montgomery, Oswego, Yorkville, Plano and Sandwich. Constructing the extension stations and required yard and infrastructure improvements is estimated to cost between about $400 million to $700 million.

An additional $6 to $14 million annually would be needed for operations and maintenance of the extension.

Future cricket field

A cricket stadium that has been in the works for the west side of Oswego since 2023 now is expected to open in 2027.

Recent Facebook posts for the proposed Breybourne Stadium state the projected opening for the cricket club is 2027.

Oswego resident Paresh Patel of Chakra360 LLC previously submitted plans to build the professional cricket stadium with a clubhouse and restaurant on 33.48 acres at the northwest corner of Orchard Road and Tuscany Trail in Oswego.

Patel still is working on getting financing together for the project, Oswego Economic Development Director Kevin Leighty said in a recent email.

“As one might imagine, borrowing and material costs remain high, so it takes quite a bit of capital to get a project of this scope off the ground,” Leighty said.

In November 2023, Oswego village trustees voted 4-1 to approve a special use permit for Phase 1 of the project, which involves construction of the field and wicket and installation of underground drain tiles.

They also recommended approval of preliminary concept plans for all five phases of the project. Prior to the approval of any future phases, additional traffic and parking studies and sound studies will be required.

As part of the second phase of the project, the stadium would be open for use with a seating capacity of 2,000. Phase 3 would bring the capacity up to 6,000 and Phase 4 would increase it to about 14,000 people.

With the seating increased to 14,000, the stadium would be able to accommodate national cricket events. Future plans involve completing second- and third-level stadium seating, which would bring capacity to between 24,000 and 25,000 people.

The cricket stadium would be near Venue 1012, an outdoor amphitheater located at 1012 Station Drive in Oswego. Owned and operated by the village of Oswego, Venue 1012 opened in August 2021.