Benefits to Benet & The Lisle Area

“As we’ve shared and shaped this proposal, what’s been most meaningful to me is seeing how many people believe in the vision of creating a facility we can all take pride in. We’re committed to bringing this to life and are deeply grateful for the support we’ve received so far. Thanks to the generous support already received, we’re confident that—together—we can create something truly special for the Lisle community and Benet Academy and the generations to come.”
-Bill Myers, President of Benet Academy.

Quick Facts: Benet At A Glance

Approximate Enrollment 1,200 Students
100+ Elementary Schools Represented
50+ Clubs, Teams, and Activities
Average Class Size of 24
Average ACT Score of 29
100% College Acceptance Rate
132 Direct Employees
$25.6 Million Annual Economic Impact in Lisle

For decades, Benet Academy has been a visible cornerstone of the Village of Lisle and an essential component of the region’s educational system. Public and private schools are not in competition with each other; instead, they provide families and students with choice, mutual support, and strengthen the broader educational ecosystem within the region.

The students and families Benet serves pay taxes into their local public school districts. However, the school districts do not incur the cost of educating these students, creating a measurable fiscal benefit that is reinvested into the education of other students.

Economic Contributions of Benet Academy

Benet Academy is a strong employer of 132 staff and faculty, an attraction to the Lisle community, a generator of local spending, and a long-term contributor to community and economic vitality in Lisle.

Students and Employees Support Local Businesses and Contribute Volunteer Services

Students, faculty/staff, and visitors patronize nearby businesses daily including Starbucks, Walgreen’s, Jimmy John’s, Little Pops Pizzeria, Yerbabuena, Dunkin’, and other convenience retail and service locations along Maple Avenue and Route 53 near the campus.

In addition, the campus demonstrates strong civic engagement through volunteer service across multiple initiatives each year (such as Village of Lisle events, Villa Saint Benedict tech‑assistance visits, and Christmas family sponsorships).

Estimated Annual Economic Contribution to the DuPage County Economy

$38.2M	171 Jobs	90%
Annual Economic Output in DuPage County	Countywide Full- and Part-Time Jobs Supported Annually (Direct & Indirect)	of Job Impacts in Education, Healthcare, or Financial/Professional Services

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Local Spending Directly Generates Sales Tax Revenues for Lisle

Annual taxable expenditures generated by students, employees, and visitors produce sales tax for the Village of Lisle.

	Average Weekly Spending (Average Over 52 Weeks)	Estimated Annual Expenditure in Lisle
Employees	$56	$383,800
Students	$11	$669,660
Visitors	$1	$71,000
Total		$1,053,460

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Sources: Benet Academy; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, RIMS II Multipliers; Gruen Gruen + Associates.

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The Benefits of Improving The Campus:

Provide A Safer Experience for Students and Athletes:

Athletics, performing arts, and physical education are essential components of the student experience and help instill healthy, active habits in youth. The renovated athletic fields will provide students and athletes with access to facilities and offer playing surfaces that enhance safety and are standard at other schools in the region. The new all-weather track and multi-sport turf field will elevate the quality of physical education classes for students.

Equality of Competition Opportunity for All:

In addition to being utilized for physical education, Benet is designing the renovated athletic facilities to host various men’s and women’s sports, including cross-country, soccer, track, lacrosse and football. To meet the expectations and needs of the next generation of students and their families, Benet must have athletic facilities located on campus. Having inadequate facilities that requiring the renting of locations across the county provides an uneven experience for student-athletes, teams, fans, and families.

Improve the Campus for Generations to Come:

Benet is an educational and cultural destination in the Village of Lisle, with roots dating back to 1898. Improving this campus frontage by renewing the stadium and athletic fields significantly improves current conditions and will emphasize a sense of pride and dedication to excellence. The improvements will utilize high quality building materials and modern technologies to create safe, durable, and contemporary facilities.

Hosting Sporting Events on Campus Improves Safety & The Student Experience: As result of current conditions, for more than 20 years, Benet has been undertaking a series of workarounds, including hosting some “home” competitions off campus at rented facilities across DuPage County. Improving the campus so that Benet can host all its athletic competitions on the school’s property reduces these safety risks and is consistent with the historic operations of the campus. It is atypical to have to host events off-property. As a result of being off-campus, fans, teachers, friends and families may be unable to stop by events and show their support for students as they compete throughout the season.

Traveling for “Home Games” Takes Time & Detracts From Academics: For sports that cannot be hosted at home, Benet student athletes spend their entire season “on the road.” The increased travel times for all competitions takes away from the opportunities for student athletes to focus on their academic performance and takes local spending out of Lisle and the local economy. For instance, Benet’s lacrosse and track teams host competitions in Oak Brook.

Crossing Maple Avenue For Games at Benedictine University: Some competitions that cannot be hosted on campus are played at neighboring Benedictine University when facilities are available for rent by Benet. This arrangement requires student-athletes, marching bands, cheerleaders, and others to walk across Maple Avenue, disrupting traffic and creating a safety risk.