Buddhists Fear Soccer Stadium Will Displace Temple in IL

May 12, 2004

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-buddhist12.html

On May 12, 2004 the Chicago Sun-Times reported, "Even with jets roaring overhead on their approach to nearby Midway Airport, Wat Dhammaram Thai Buddhist Temple in Bridgeview, with its fruit trees and vegetable gardens -- and the eight monks who care for them -- is normally a pretty serene place. Such was not the case as monks in saffron robes and temple officials in business attire gathered nervously Tuesday afternoon, worried that the Village of Bridgeview, which plans to build a $70 million soccer stadium a few blocks away, also plans to seize the temple's property by eminent domain to build a parking lot for soccer fans. For almost a year, leaders of the Thai Buddhist temple, which has about 2,000 members throughout the Chicago area, have been talking informally with Bridgeview Mayor Steven Landek and other village officials about possibly relocating the temple to make way for a new Chicago Fire soccer stadium at 79th and Harlem, said Dr. Nakares Thepjatri, a member of the temple's board of directors. "

See also: Buddhism, Zoning