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.
I assure you the Bears leaving town won’t be this degenerates legacy. The rampant crime and murder are her legacy. If the people of Chicago don’t get rid of her they deserve the crime and murder and to lose the Bears.
100%
If you placed a bowl of powdered eggs in between Lori “Teddy Bridgewater” Lightfoot and Erika “Magpie” Lambert who would be the first to finish the eggs?
Horrible Mayor, she can’t get along with anyone in city government or big business! Time for her to go.
Or they can sell off the pieces they don’t want to pay to develop.
Funny that her casino is hitting snags at the same time the Bears make their departure (almost) official. Anyway, Arlington Heights is a great space for a football stadium. Having had the dubious pleasure of going out there for jury duty, I can attest that it’s an easy train ride from downtown that stops right outside the gates of the Arlington Park property. But no way should the McCaskeys get a break to “develop” the rest of the property. They should sell some stock or borrow like any other company does when they need to raise money. They can afford… Read more »