MEDICAL DISTRICT — The Illinois Medical District Commission has approved plans for a $31 million athletic complex which will be used as a training and events center for Special Olympics Chicago.
On Tuesday, the commission voted in favor of the complex, which will sit on 12 acres of district property at South Wood and West 14th streets.
Plans for the project include a 2,800-seat stadium, a 63,000-square-foot field house with
administrative offices, a 4-acre multipurpose field, and a 120-car parking lot. The complex will be owned and operated by the Chicago Park District.
Special Olympics Chicago is responsible for raising the $31 million — a cost which also includes the property's market rate value. The group said it plans to seek city, state and federal funding.
Special Olympics Chicago has said it would aim to complete the project before 2018, marking the 50th anniversary of the first international Special Olympics games ever held — at Soldier Field in 1968.