It is common knowledge at this point that the Chicago Bears aren’t satisfied with their current situation in the city. They play in an outdated and small stadium at Soldier Field. A building they don’t even own. Even worse they have no other financial benefits bringing in revenue around the stadium as many other NFL franchises do. This is why many believe they might be trying to force their way out of town to the suburbs. A rumor that gained immediate traction when the team put in a bid to purchase Arlington Racecourse International.
The 326-acre plot of land would be perfect for such plans. Not only could they build a new stadium which they would own themselves. They would also be able to establish loads of other surrounding businesses like restaurants, hotels, and even a casino. This would improve the overall value of the franchise tremendously. It sounds like people in Arlington Heights are more than open to the idea. In turn, this has led to an air of pessimism for many fans hoping the team would stay in Chicago.
Thankfully for them, there may yet be a chance of that happening.
Recently a movement has begun to renovate the city’s downtown public transportation called ONE Central. Primarily the plan is to connect every major rail network into a single hub. David Zegeye of Streetsblog Chicago broke it down.
As discussed in previous meetings, the purported goal of the One Central is to link the Metra Electric District line, the South Shore Line, Amtrak, a new branch of the ‘L’, and a proposed autonomous vehicle network called the “CHI-Line” into a single hub. According to a transit study Landmark completed, they expect around 100,000 people passing through the station every day. They say the expected demand would significantly boost ridership across Chicago’s transit network, while expanding capacity across downtown, and providing a revenue stream for Illinois.
That in itself sounds like a logical enough idea. However, it turns out ONE Central has a noteworthy partner in their efforts. The Chicago Bears. That’s right. According to the details, the transit hub would contain several million square feet of retail. It would be designed as a corridor made for small businesses. All the efforts would be to create a Chicago brand experience. Sort of like a hub at a major amusement park.
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How do the Bears factor in? Quite cleverly as it turns out.
Since Soldier Field does not host retail establishments, One Central is partnering with the Bears to allow them to run several restaurants and memorabilia and gift shops for attendees and tourists. If Landmark Development is this far along in a partnership with the Bears, that calls into question the Bears’ supposed interest in relocating from Soldier Field to Arlington Heights.
Were the Bears to get control of such a potentially profitable strip of real estate inside the city, it would create one of the key revenue streams they have been seeking. This might go a long way in helping convince them to reconsider moving out of the city. Especially if potential ways can be found to help improve Soldier Field.
Chicago Bears are wisely keeping all their options open
First of all, it’s important to note they haven’t won the bid for the Arlington Park property yet. Burning bridges with the city before that happens would be most unwise. At the same time, making inroads to potentially own retail properties downtown gives them some alternatives in case the bid ends up falling through. The organization is putting itself in a smart financial position.
If they win the bid? Great. Now they can negotiate from a position of strength. This ONE Central project can give them the retail revenues they seek while the threat of leaving might win them concessions from the Chicago Park District on making some needed upgrades to Soldier Field. If the bid fails? They’ll still have plans in place to spread their influence further into downtown, improving their overall bottom line.
It’s a win-win. If they get what they’re looking for from the city and still end up winning the Arlington property, then there are any number of ways they can use it to add further moneymaking opportunities to their portfolio.
