The Chicago Bears have made their intentions clear at this point. Any thoughts of them finding a way to stay at Soldier Field are dead. This organization has wanted a new stadium for a long time. Now they’re mere months away from owning the necessary property to make that dream a reality. It started with a $197 million bid on Arlington Racecourse International in Arlington Heights. That proved successful. Now all sides are working through the logistics to finalize the deal. Once that happens, the real work begins.
While plans remain in the early stages, the McCaskey family obviously wants a new stadium with a surrounding entertainment district meant to generate revenue. What nobody knows for sure is how the new stadium will look. The only thing known for sure is it will likely be a dome. That means the days of “Bear Weather” are numbered. Phil Rogers of NBC 5 has studied the situation closely for months. He sat down with David Kaplan on Unfiltered to discuss it. From what he understands, the Bears are likely to follow a blueprint similar to what the Los Angeles Rams did with SoFi Stadium.
Obviously, they won’t spend $5 billion. They don’t have that kind of money. However, the overall approach from private funding to the surrounding village and so on will have a strong resemblance.
The Chicago Bears should have no problems finding the money.
Public funding would be helpful, but it’s not a dealbreaker like it would’ve been 30 years ago. This franchise is rich enough by now to make this happen on its own. They can get financial assistance from the NFL along with several other licensing options to handle the bill. It is unlikely the organization would’ve pursued this venture if they felt it would be too difficult to find the money. That is something people should keep in mind. Team president Ted Phillips is many things. When it comes to money, he is not an idiot.
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This entire story is still in the first chapter. The Chicago Bears are likely at least five years from making significant progress toward a new stadium. That Soldier Field lease remains in place until 2030. While they may seek to break it early, it won’t be for some time to come. Until then, the franchise can focus on maybe bringing a championship to that hallowed building before they leave.
Out of curiosity what will happen if Virginia passes away before the stadium deal is completed? My understanding is the McCaskey Family will have to sell because they don’t have enough to pay the inheritance tax. Is this correct?
The Bears do not need public funds as no one from the surrounding area will benefit. The national corporations who lease the spaces to sell their servics should offset the need for public funding. Remember, Jerry Jones built the Cowboys stadium without public funds in 2009 when his team was worth much less than the Bears team of today. Jones used the power of negotiating the outside use of the stadium. These are skills not found within the McCaskey family or the Bears organization.
I have no faith in the McCaskeys getting anything done properly – for decades they have operated on a pathetic dangerous field that once they charged the fans $40 to fix.
Not sure why so fi is the model when it’s not really a dome. The seats are sunk into the ground because a traditional stadium would get in the way of nearby plane traffic and the roof doesn’t seal out the weather. It’s more like a giant car port.
The Soldier Field lease is a nothing burger as the cost to the break the lease is not much more than a rounding error compared to the cost of a new stadium. Having said that, Soldier Field will be the Bears’ home for a longtime given that planning and constructing a stadium will take years. It’s very exciting that the Bears are making this move. My guess is it will strengthen our hometown franchise in many ways including a better team on the field!