Citing the proximity of its residential areas to a proposed site of a multi-million dollar domed stadium for the White Sox in Addison, the Village of Bloomingdale is asking the team to study further the impact a ballpark would make.
Administrator Robert Reeves said the village is concerned about increased auto traffic and noise from autos, the crowd, amplified music and, possibly, fireworks which now accompany many Sox games.
He also said village officials are leery of predictions that the stadium would be an economic boon to the area. For instance, Reeves said, he didn`t see how local businesses would benefit.
”Nobody around here makes bats that I know of,” he said.
”They imply that people driving to and from the games may want to stay and drink and eat and make merry,” he said. ”That to the village fathers is one of their fears. The village doesn`t look at having gin mills and lounges as being an economic plus.”
Among the plans for a new stadium discussed by the White Sox organization is the construction of 10-story retractable dome stadium on a 140-acre site it owns at Lake and Swift Roads in Addison.
The Sox have provided Bloomingdale with preliminary impact studies, and Mayor Samuel Tenuto has responded with a long letter outlining Bloomingdale`s fears.
Terry Savarise, the Sox controller, said Tenuto`s response was ”a little disappointing because we have told him it was very preliminary. . . . We know we have a lot of work to do.”
Both Savarise and Reeves pointed out that neither side is assuming the Sox will build in Addison because a proposal to build a new stadium in Chicago still is under consideration.
”Who knows whether they`re doing this as a smoke screen to beat up on Chicago?” Reeves said.
Nonetheless, village officials in Bloomingdale, which has a population of 13,500, believe they have as much of an interest in the Addison proposal as Addison does.
Reeves argues that the residential areas of Bloomingdale are closer to the stadium site than residences in Addison and that many fans would pass through Bloomingdale to attend games.
During rush hour, he said, Lake Street and other major thoroughfares in Bloomingdale already are packed. ”Presently those roads are at full capacity,” he said. ”The roads are already a parking lot.”
Frustrated motorists, he said, would be likely to cruise onto residential streets. And Bloomingdale probably would have to add to its police force to handle the newcomers.
