The Chicago Bears believe they have around 72% of the necessary funding to finance a new stadium on the lakefront. Team president Kevin Warren and his people hope to get the remaining 28% from a collaborative effort with the state of Illinois. However, Governor J.B. Pritzker and the sitting state government have rebuffed early attempts by the organization to discuss such things. They don’t view a new stadium as anywhere close to a pressing issue, especially with economic challenges elsewhere.
This leads to obvious questions about how the Bears will raise the money if the state doesn’t help. One option they could look into is offering a minor stake in ownership of the franchise. The Ricketts family did this with the Chicago Cubs back in 2015, allowing Andrew T. Berlin to purchase upwards of 20% of the team. They would then use that money to help finance renovations to Wrigley Field. Warren made it clear to Fox 32 that such an avenue is not and probably never will be on the table for the Bears.
“That’s something that we have not talked about. That’s something that is not on the table at this point in time,” Warren said when asked about the Bears selling minority ownership in the team. “It’s just not, and I don’t ever visualize that becoming a part of the discussion. We don’t think it’s necessary to do.
“Never say never. But that is not something that we would ever focus on.”
Kevin Warren believes the process has only begun.
Part of the issue at present is it’s an election season. Democrats and Republicans are gearing up for what should be a high-stakes battle for seats in government at both the state and federal levels. Negotiating a new stadium deal in the midst of that is not something anybody wants. This is why the Illinois legislature adjourned without even discussing the idea. The Bears will have to wait for their next opportunity. Warren made it clear he’s not been surprised by any of this. Getting a stadium done is never a smooth process. He expected roadblocks.
This is why the Bears hired him. Kevin Warren has done this before. He fought the same battles in Minnesota when the Vikings wanted to build U.S. Bank Stadium. There were plenty of headaches, but eventually, they got the job done without going over budget. Warren is confident he can do the same. He stated his goal is to start the construction of the stadium by next year and complete it by 2028. That sounds ambitious. Still, he has more knowledge of this stuff than anybody else. If he thinks it’s doable, then we’ll have to watch.
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