The other options would make the stadium “dome ready” for future construction or, if the Bears bolt for the suburbs, modernize it without a dome to make a stadium better suited for the Chicago Fire. In late July, she unveiled her plan to build a dome over Soldier Field - a $2.2 billion dome proposal that was one of three options to improve the stadium as part of a grand plan to overhaul the lakefront’s Museum Campus. Credit: City of Chicago A rendering shows what a Soldier Field dome could look like. Lightfoot built a committee of civic leaders to come up with a new version of Soldier Field and the surrounding Museum Campus in hopes of keeping the Bears in town - or having a backup plan if they bolt. The San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Football Team also play outside the cities they’re named after. The New York Giants and New York Jets moved out of the city decades ago for New Jersey. That price tag goes down in future years.īig city teams opting for more room in the suburbs is not unprecedented. The Bears could break the Soldier Field lease as soon as 2026 by paying an $84 million penalty to the city, the Tribune has reported. Daley, also had years of tense negotiations with the team, who threatened to move to Gary, Indiana, in 1995. Daley threatened to sue to block them from calling themselves the Chicago Bears if they moved. The Bears moved into the Park District-owned Soldier Field in 1971 but threatened a move to Arlington Heights several years later. No details on how the Bears would finance the project have been revealed. A move to a new site is expected to mean a potentially multi-billion-dollar, Bears-owned complex that would create a flood of new revenue streams for the team. The Bears pay rent to the Park District for Soldier Field, split revenues and have little expansion possibilities. The Bears’ lease at Soldier Field, the NFL’s smallest stadium with 61,500 seats, runs out in 2033. When the Bears announced they were getting into the bidding, Lightfoot dismissed it as “clearly a negotiating tactic that the Bears have used before.” And she took a swipe, saying, “And like most Bears fans, we want the organization to focus on putting a winning team on the field, beating the Packers finally and being relevant past October. The Bears announced in September 2021 they had signed a purchase agreement - but that deal has lingered for nearly a year without being closed. The racetrack was rebuilt after a 1985 fire and was long considered one of the premier racing venues in the country. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has tried to convince the team to stay by offering to build a dome over the stadium, but many saw it as a Hail Mary with little chance of keeping the team within the city limits.Ĭhurchill Downs put the historic track and its surrounding property for sale in February 2021 and then shut down racing operations at the end of last season. And the Bears are tenants of the Park District, meaning they pay rent and split many of the revenue streams. The city and the Bears rebuilt Soldier Field in 2002, but it remains the smallest capacity stadium in the NFL. The announcement is the latest twist in the stadium drama between the Bears and the city of Chicago - a saga that dates back to the ’70s, when the team first threatened to leave Soldier Field for Arlington Heights. plCE1BtmmK- ArlingtonHeightsIL September 1, 2022 The have announced that they will be hosting a community meeting at John Hersey High School on Thursday, September 8th, from 7 – 9 p.m., regarding their potential purchase and redevelopment of the Arlington Park Property. Lightfoot didn’t say what those backup plans entail, though she’s hinted she could try to bring another team to Chicago or the city could redevelop Soldier Field and the surrounding area for concerts and other uses. And we’re gonna keep fighting that fight as long as we possibly can.” “We’ve got Plan B, Plan C and others in the works as well if the Bears decide they’re going to abandon the city of Chicago. “We’re gonna continue our discussions with the league,” Lightfoot said. She still hopes the team will decide to remain in Chicago, she said. Lightfoot, speaking at an unrelated news conference Tuesday morning, said the city has made a “compelling case” for the Bears to stay here. Thursday meeting at John Hersey High School in the suburbs. Team officials are scheduled to present conceptual plans for an Arlington Heights stadium at a 7-9 p.m. The Bears have for months made clear they’re looking at abandoning Soldier Field and moving to Arlington Heights. CHICAGO - The Bears are expected to detail possible plans for moving to the suburbs - but Chicago has backup plans, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.
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