The Chicago Bears usually slip out of the news this time of year as minicamps end and training camp is still over a month away. Yet 2021 continues to hatch surprises. The latest came when team president Ted Phillips announced the team had placed a bid to possibly purchase Arlington Racecourse International. It is a 326-acre strip of land that has housed Arlington Park for many years. The move caught a lot of people by surprise. Was NFL commissioner Roger Goodell one of them?
Not by the sound of it. His appearance on 670 The Score suggests he was well-informed about the situation and what the Bears were trying to accomplish. It also sounded like he wasn’t anywhere close to taking the stance that Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot insisted he would. Back in April, she insisted that the city is working on ways to improve Soldier Field. However, if push came to shove? The NFL wouldn’t let them out of their lease which runs through 2033.
“The Bears have a lease with Soldier Field until 2033 and the NFL doesn’t let any teams break their leases.”
Based on Goodell’s comments? That might’ve been too presumptive on her part.
“I don’t know the answer to that question other than to know this is a really early stage to develop potentially an alternative,” Goodell said Wednesday on 670 The Score as part of the What About Chicago Radiothon. “But I think a lot has to be done here. I know their commitment to the Chicago area is 110%, and that’s the most important thing to me.
“We have a long lease at Soldier Field. It’s a great place. But we’re all looking to the long term and trying to look at alternatives, and that’s what the Bears are doing.
Ever the diplomat, Goodell was careful with his words. Yet it wasn’t hard to read between the lines. The Bears think they can do better than Soldier Field. They want to stay in Chicago but also feel they’re not maximizing revenue possibilities by staying where they are. If they think a move to Arlington Heights will change that? It doesn’t sound like the NFL is going to stop them.
As for the lease? It’s a contract. Contracts can be bought out. There is no reason to think the Bears can’t work a deal to do that with Soldier Field. Especially if they get help from other investors in a new stadium project. In fact, they’re already laying the groundwork by making a deal with sports gambling and casino outlets. Both of whom have direct ties to Arlington Park. This looks and feels like more than a negotiating tactic.
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Roger Goodell has one job above all other things
That is to make as much money as possible for the NFL owners. It is why he was hired. Love him or hate him, Goodell has proven quite capable at his job. The league is as successful financially speaking as it’s ever been. If he believed that a new stadium would elevate the portfolio of the Bears and the league as a whole? It is difficult to imagine he’d try to interfere. As hallowed a landmark as Soldier Field is, it’s outdated and small.
Not a great combination.
Considering this franchise has one of the largest fanbases in the country? That seems like such a waste of moneymaking potential. The McCaskeys might finally be waking up to that reality. While no move is imminent if they win the bid for Arlington Park the prospect of leaving the city becomes very real. With Roger Goodell and the league unlikely to interfere directly, Lightfoot will face a major battle to prevent it.
What she can do remains to be seen. Since the Chicago Park District owns Soldier Field, agreeing to any potential upgrades or expansions requires lots of negotiations. Something that would no longer matter if the Bears owned their own building.