The leadership of Benet Academy has proposed a plan to renew the school’s Baumgartner-Gilbert Stadium and enhance the campus with a modern stadium and athletic facility that can accommodate all the school’s sports teams and athletic competitions. Renewing the stadium will bring the tradition of hosting these events back to Benet.

The school submitted its proposal to the Village of Lisle for review and consideration. The Planning and Zoning Commission is expected to host the third public meeting on Benet’s application on Sept. 17. You can show your support for this transformational change by signing this open letter to officials at the Village and your support will be made part of the official hearing record:  

Dear Mayor Mullen, Village Trustees, and Plan Commissioners:

We, the undersigned members of Benet’s student community, respectfully request your support for Benet Academy’s proposal to renew, renovate, and modernize its stadium and athletic fields. The Baumgartner-Gilbert Stadium and athletic fields are a relic of the 1960s.

Due to the current condition of the facilities, among other negative impacts, Benet can not host football or lacrosse games, track meets, or some soccer events at home. This compromises our ability to show our pride as a school community on our own campus and causes us to lose the “home field advantage” aspect of many competitions. In addition, it obviously necessitates travel to other locations which has a negative impact on school spirit because it limits underclassmen attendance at events and puts an added burden on our families and fans who support us. Even our physical education curriculum must be adjusted at times to accommodate the poor track and field conditions.

The Benet Family has well-earned great pride in who we are both in the past and today. We are a school that stands out, and our pride should flow through all aspects of school life. The four pillars of excellence, Academics, Faith & Service, Fine Arts, and Athletics, offer a unique student experience that ensures we can thrive in all of these areas. Our facilities and programs must enable and support  this excellence. The proposed improvement to the stadium and track will make this happen and will benefit many future generations of students and athletes.

We, the students of Benet Academy, are excited to benefit from these improvements and to have the privilege of getting together to showcase our talents and hard work in athletics. We acknowledge and understand the great privilege this stadium would be, and our demeanor will reflect that as we continue the tradition of being good neighbors.

We urge the Village and Commission to consider all the important benefits the renewed campus will bring to Benet and to the Lisle Community. We support this plan because it will positively contribute to the academic, athletic, and social growth and development of students now and in the future.

Thank you for your service to Lisle and for considering the community’s support of Benet Academy’s plan.

Act now and add your signature to this open letter to the Village of Lisle: