The Chicago Bears pivoted away from Arlington Heights over the past year since Kevin Warren took over as the new team president. He seems intent on building a new state-of-the-art facility on the lakefront south of Soldier Field. It has gotten to the point where they even provided a comprehensive video demonstration of how they envision the property looking when it’s completed. It was admittedly impressive. There is only one problem, and it’s the biggest. Where do they plan on finding the money for this?
Estimates say the Bears and NFL would foot $2 billion for the project. However, to get everything done they would need $900 million in public money (probably more) to bring it home. One person who seemed against this idea from the start was Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.
“I wonder if it’s a good deal for the taxpayers,” Pritzker said. “It’s very important to me that, with all the state needs to accomplish, that we think about what the priorities are for the state… there are a lot of priorities the state has and I’m not sure that this is among the highest priorities for taxpayers.”
It appears he has reinforced that stance since then. The Bears approached his office to discuss how to reach an agreement both sides would be happy with. According to NBC Sports Chicago, they didn’t exactly get a warm reception down in Springfield.
“As the Governor has said, the current proposal is a non-starter for the state,” Gough said in a statement to NBC Chicago. “In order to subsidize a brand new stadium for a privately owned sports team, the Governor would need to see a demonstrable and tangible benefit to the taxpayers of Illinois. The Governor’s office remains open to conversations with the Bears, lawmakers, and other stakeholders with the understanding that responsible fiscal stewardship of tax-payer dollars remains the foremost priority.”
The Chicago Bears face a tough fight ahead.
It sounds like Pritzker is determined to not give an inch in these discussions. He doesn’t want any taxpayer money going towards a private enterprise. Too often, these organizations promise big benefits for the locals, only for that to be a complete lie. Socialize cost and privatize profit. In other words, he thinks the Bears want to wring as many dollars out of the taxpayers as possible but will simply keep all the money once the stadium and surrounding property start bringing it in. Warren and his people will have to bring forward a proposal that satisfies him and the state government.
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With lines like this being drawn, it feels like the possibility of Arlington Heights has risen from the ashes. Once the Chicago Bears did their video presentation on the downtown facility, it felt as if that option was gone. If Pritzker refuses to budge in the coming weeks and months, Warren may decide pivoting back to the suburbs is in the best interests of his franchise. By the sound of things, their local government has softened demands on property taxes. Much of this comes down to how determined the Bears are to stay in Chicago.
Building a stadium in downtown Chicago would be a complete backwards step. Same thing they already have. Just without a dome. Chicago would still control the stadium. How would this benefit the Bears owners. It wouldn’t. Why spend a dime on something Chicago would own? If Warren can’t get the AR deal done then fire him. AR could be the next state of the art stadium complex. Would have it all. Hotels, sports gaming, restaurants and clubs. The possibilities are endless. In Chicago…same crap with dome.
I think K Warren and the McCaskey’s knew well in advance that Chicago would balk and that the State would not agree to the funding. I believe this was all just smoke and mirrors to position themselves to building a privately owned stadium at the Arlington Heights property. What do you bet that the major article will be the team getting a deal done to proceed with a new stadium complex in Arlington Heights?
It’s funny that the Governor and Chicago blow tax dollars on all sorts of useless things and yet, now when given an opportunity that would bring in money, they of course suddenly act like they care. Not only that but, since Chicago will pretty much own the stadium, prepare to pay for it. I really hope they move to Arlington just to spite the governor, mayor and Chicago it self. I have a feeling though that Chicago will do everything it can through the back door to somehow sabotage or make it near impossible for the bears to move to… Read more »
Original plan for the Arlington Heights property was no public funding for stadium. Local School Districts lost their heads when a T.I.F. was proposed for a surrounding entertainment district. The Bears will have no problem getting private funding for the stadium, everybody gets rich off that deal. Plus there’s even parking on the Arlington Height property. After State Rep Mark Walker thought the property would be a good landing spot for our countries “New Arrivals” I think the school districts will be very welcoming to the Bears. Will be interesting to watch this play out
Well, hopefully Kevin Warren is the right man for the job. Time to play hardball. Arlington Heights, and other suburban possibilities are still in play. Maybe there’s someplace in the northern suburbs with a lakefront site that could entice the Bears to move there. But given that both AH and Chicago (via the Gov) have pushed back, Warren needs to keep more channels open.