Joy of the Game Shoots to Expand its Programs

A popular place for basketball could become a place for young people to gather and a venue for private events, but it might take a while before Deerfield decides whether Joy of the Game can expand its offerings.

Backers of the plan made their case to trustees during Monday night's board of a whole meeting. And, despite concerns about the number of young people who could attend events there as well as security, trustees seemed to think this was an idea worth pursuing.

But the proposal still has a ways to go before trustees take final action on it. A detailed proposal must go through meetings and public hearings – and possibly some tweaks – with the plan commission. Trusteets also could ask for some changes before it ultimately makes its decision. The entire process could start sometime this spring, village officials said.

Jeff Bizar, who owns Bizar Entertainment Inc., which provides DJs, motivational speakers and dancers for events there and will be involved in the teen night effort, is hopeful that the plan will be approved.

“Kids don’t have enough to do,” said Bizar, whose son is a freshman at . “I am concerned about what teens are doing. There’s nowhere for them to go. My goal is to have a cool and fun and safe place for them to go and I cannot imagine a better option.”

Efforts to reach , who bought the 50,000 square-foot facility near Waukegan and Lake Cook roads last summer, for additional comment were unsuccessful.

Joy of the Game, which is 18 years old, is more than just a busy hub for basketball. It offers volleyball and floor hockey. There’s a training facility, a place for sports rehabilitation and physical exercise. More than 100 teams play under the name Joy of the Game or Rising Stars. Area schools are connected with the programs there. And more than 35 tournaments are held each year attracting people from all over the region. It's constantly busy during the week, Bizar said.

Carl and Bizar would like to be able to open the building to non-sports events for charities, political groups and others. Caterers would provide food; alcohol would be served but removed once the event is over.

In addition, they want to open the building on the weekends with teens using it one night and middle-school age children using it on the other, projecting that as many as 2,600 young people could be there at a time. There would be security, and the police would be engaged in this effort as well, Carl told trustees Monday evening.

But right now, those uses aren’t allowed in the C-2 commercial district, where it is located, so Joy of the Game would need what is called a special use permit, village officials said.

In looking at a detailed application, village officials would have to assess if the use at that center would be compatible with other businesses in the , if it would have any kind of impact on them, how many people would come there at one time, traffic and impact on parking, said Jeff Ryckaert, Deerfield’s principal planner.

Mayor Harriet Rosenthal expressed concern about the number of young people who could be attending an event at one time as well as parking and security.

So, too, did Trustee Mary Oppenheim, who suggested that they look at scaling back the size of a crowd on teen nights. “Perhaps you should start smaller just to see what the stresses are and what the community can handle,” she said.