(Hart Howerton/Chicago Bears)Īrlington Heights Village Manager Randy Recklaus said village staff is looking forward to working with the team and welcoming them to the area. The Bears released proposed development plans for the Arlington International Racecourse property in Arlington Heights on Sept. Chicago’s Soldier Field: A timeline of events since 1924, including hosting the world’s athletes, congregations, politicians and performersĪ rendering released by the Chicago Bears shows the view from the threshold of the proposed stadium of the Arlington Park entertainment district.Developer details ‘reimagined’ domed Soldier Field in ‘Hail Mary’ bid to keep Bears in Chicago.So we think this would be a great chance to look at that.” Read more here. “But the limitations that have been imposed by a contract with the Bears have really gotten in the way of further growth of that revenue. “A review of the Park District budget over the past few years would reveal that the Park District has actually been growing its revenue in terms of using Soldier Field for more events that are non-football events, and there’s more potential there,” Irizarry said. If the team leaves Soldier Field, Irizarry said she hopes the stadium can host many more concerts each year, easing the increasingly controversial burden on neighborhood parks for big musical events such as Riot Fest in Douglass Park and the recently announced Re:SET festival in Riis Park. The divorce is far from a foregone conclusion - the Bears have simply taken the next step, one they’ve been telegraphing for over a year.įriends of the Parks Executive Director Juanita Irizarry served on a 2022 panel Lightfoot created to figure out what a modernized Museum Campus could look like with or without the Bears. Bears standoff could be a lose-lose for Lightfoot: A huge defeat if team leaves, a potentially huge price tag for taxpayers if it staysĪ Chicago Bears fan takes his seat early before a game at Soldier Field on Jan.What are the costs if the Bears bail on Chicago for Arlington Heights?.Just let the Bears go? Chicago’s mayoral candidates on what they’d do to keep the team - and what happens to Soldier Field.Mayor Lightfoot still sees chance to stop Bears’ move to Arlington Heights: ‘We want to do everything we can’.Her first reaction to the team’s interest in Arlington Heights was to mock the NFL franchise and encourage its leaders to “focus on putting a winning team on the field, beating the Packers finally and being relevant past October.”īut now that the Bears have dropped a landmine in front of the mayor’s reelection campaign by closing on the former Arlington Heights racetrack property they hope to transform into a modern stadium, Lightfoot faces a tough situation that’s largely out of her control but will nevertheless draw criticism of her combative style. With less than two weeks to go before Chicago’s election, Mayor Lori Lightfoot isn’t laughing at the Bears anymore. Political fallout of stadium move?Ĭhicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks during a press conference announcing proposed changes to Soldier Field on July 25, 2022. Here’s what to know about the possible move from Soldier Field, with reaction from City Hall to Arlington Heights. Ann Gillespie, a Democrat from Arlington Heights, has expressed doubts about the measure. But state lawmakers from Chicago are unlikely to help the Bears leave, and downstate legislators will want something in return. The announcement comes shortly after a “megaprojects” bill was introduced in Springfield that could help the Bears finance their plans by freezing the property tax assessment for up to 40 years. But the team issued an open letter calling the purchase “an important next step” to see if the plan is feasible.īy shelling out $197 million for the 326-acre Arlington International Racecourse site, team officials plan to leave behind Chicago’s Soldier Field in favor of owning their own stadium where they could also hold marquee events like the Super Bowl or NCAA basketball championships. The Chicago Bears embarked on a new era Wednesday with the purchase of a site in Arlington Heights where the team hopes to build a new enclosed stadium with a massive entertainment and residential development.ĭespite the sale, the organization maintains the stadium and development are still big “ifs,” dependent on the team getting certainty on property tax limits and public subsidies to help build infrastructure for the project.
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