Joliet Catholic Academy, which wants to build new outdoor sports facilities, and neighbors worried about the impact of a future football stadium, continue to wait for a date when the project will go to the Joliet City Council for a vote.

The project apparently will not be on the council agenda for its first meeting of the new year next week.

City officials have suggested the project could go to the council on Jan. 20, said Ryan Quigley, director of institutional advancement for JCA.

“But that’s not been confirmed,” Quigley added.

A city of Joliet spokeswoman said Tuesday the JCA plan will go to the council early in 2026 but a date for the vote has not been set.

JCA is ready to begin construction this spring if the city approves the project, Quigley said.

“We’re lined up to start immediately,” he said.

A stadium would come later, but the turf field for the stadium could be installed in 2026, Quigley said. The turf would provide a new practice facility for the football team and a playing field for soccer.

JCA also could add new tennis courts and a parking lot in 2026 if it gets a green light in time for spring construction.

The project was put on hold in June when Joliet officials pulled the matter off a Zoning Board of Appeals agenda amid opposition and required JCA to submit more detailed plans to the Plan Commission instead.

Those plans went to the Plan Commission in November. The commission recommended approval for JCA’s Planned Unit Development proposal, which includes stadium construction.

That approval sent the matter next to the council with the possibility of a vote in December.

Neighbors against the football stadium have been watching to see when the plan goes on a council agenda.

“The neighbors are keeping an eye on it,” said Jori Gura, a leading opponent who has tried to keep residents apprised of the project while speaking out against it.

“A lot of the neighbors are against it,” Gura said. “Everybody’s still concerned about what’s going to happen.”

Main concerns are traffic, noise and lights that will come when JCA starts playing football at the stadium.

For JCA, the stadium would be its first on-campus. The football team has played its home games for decades at Joliet Memorial Stadium, 3000 W. Jefferson St., which is owned and operated by the Joliet Park District.

The plan also includes renovated baseball and softball fields, and the addition of pickleball courts.

City spokeswoman Ann Sylvester said in an email that finalization of the city budget in December delayed a possible vote on the JCA plan this month.

Other city business deferred at the end of the year or related to implementation of the new budget has been filling up the January agendas, she said.

The JCA plan “is expected to move forward early in the new year, and we will place it on a council agenda once scheduling is finalized," Sylvester said.