The Chicago Bears shocked much of the NFL world, especially their fans, when they placed a bid on the Arlington Racecourse International property last year. Nobody had any inkling that the team was potentially seeking an exit from Soldier Field. Not with so much time left on their current lease. However, the 326 acres of land and an icier-than-ever relationship with the Chicago Park District forced their hand. After a $197.2 million bid, the Bears won the auction.
Just like that, the ball started rolling on the organization to find a new home for the first time in 50 years. Everybody who has followed the Bears for long enough knows the team began playing at Soldier Field in 1971 after leaving Wrigley Field due to its low seating capacity. Many may not know that George Halas originally had designs for moving his team to Arlington Heights. Andrew Schneider of Curbed Chicago provided some details on the events.
“In 1971, the Chicago Bears could be found playing games at Wrigley Field (home of the Cubs) but when the AFL and the NFL merged, new rules required fields that seat over 50,000. They’d originally intended to build a stadium in northwest suburban Arlington Heights but settled on moving into Soldier Field instead. Some renovations were required first, including new end zone seating on the north which created a separate “North Field” section, which would later go on to host tennis tournaments. The Bears extended their lease with the Chicago Park District in 1978 for another twenty years, and began replacing Soldier Field’s old plank seating with more modern stadium seating”
So what happened?
In 1970, the Bears played home games at Dyche Stadium. For those who don’t know, that building eventually became Ryan Field, the home of Northwestern. Halas liked the site and had hoped to move his team there. However, town residents petitioned officials to block the move. That was followed by the Big Ten Conference denying permission to play there despite a five-year agreement between the franchise and the university.
So Halas was forced to look elsewhere. In the spring of 1971, his eyes turned to Arlington Heights. He liked racecourse property. There was one problem. Like Wrigley, it didn’t have the seating capacity to meet the NFL’s new requirements of at least 50,000 seats. With no means to expand it, the Bears owner turned his eyes to Soldier Field. The rest is history.
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Chicago Bears are finally fulfilling a half-century mission.
It was obvious Halas wanted to move to the northern suburbs even back then. The timing was never right. Now Virginia McCaskey is fulfilling her father’s vision. Not only that, but she’s doing it in a way that will finally free the organization from so many years of surviving on leases to survive. The Bears will primarily own the new stadium that will be built on the Arlington property. Not the Wrigley Company and not the Chicago Park District.
If the rumors are true and the Chicago Bears hope to name the new building George S. Halas stadium, it will be the ultimate tribute to the franchise founder. Quite a touching story, honestly. Yes, the move is primarily driven by business aspirations. The McCaskeys feel more money can be made in the long-term by having full control of the property.
They are correct, by the way.
Still, this entire saga is a reminder that the McCaskeys are a family-run business. They’ve tried to do right by Papa Bear Halas ever since they took over in the 1980s. It was one of his dreams to give the Bears ample space in the northern suburbs. Now that dream is nearing a reality.
I nearly threw up the first time I saw the “New” Soldier Field, and it is pathetic that the third largest market in the country has the smallest seating capacity.
20+ years too late still beats never!
LMAFO “Virginia McCaskey is fulfilling her father’s vision”
A legitimate modern stadium would be very cool. Don’t love $25 beers but that is what we are going to see.