David Kaplan warned everybody a few days ago that the Arlington Park purchase was close for the Chicago Bears, well ahead of schedule. Sure enough, the news dropped on Wednesday afternoon of February 15th. Everything went through. The organization now officially owns the entire 326-acre property. They are free to do with it whatever they wish. While they didn’t openly commit to building a new stadium there as everybody expected, it was pretty obvious what the next step in the process would be. Meanwhile, Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot has reached her last stand.
The Bears must figure out the money situation. How are they going to pay for it? They reiterated in a statement that they don’t intend to pursue public funding for the project. However, they will need tax assistance on several issues before they can move forward. They will likely seek out private funding for the venue. That shouldn’t be a huge issue. There are sure to be plenty of investors interested in the project. The NFL itself will be able to help as well.
Lightfoot released a statement in the wake of the news. It didn’t come across as somebody ready to admit their failure for letting this entire sequence happen.
Lori Lightfoot may end up having this as her legacy.
While sports isn’t the primary reason she was elected, the fact is the Bears leaving Chicago after a century of playing in the city is by far the biggest event to happen during her time in office. What makes it even worse is she had every opportunity to prevent it. The franchise had wanted to get a sportsbook installed at Soldier Field to take advantage of new legalized gambling laws in Illinois. She and the Chicago Park District both ignored those requests. They grew fed up with the constant disrespect. So when the opportunity to purchase Churchill Downs arrived, they pounced.
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At first, Lori Lightfoot shrugged it off. There is no way the Bears were moving. They were under a lease until 2030. They should focus more on winning games and beating the Packers than on a new stadium. As the weeks progressed, it seemed to settle in how serious this was. She tried to put together a flashy plan for a complete renovation of Soldier Field, complete with a revamped surrounding property. It was too little, too late. The wheels were in motion. Now nothing can stop this runaway train.
