As the Chicago Bears push to build a new stadium, the focus has shifted to a publicly owned domed stadium on the Museum Campus near Soldier Field on the city's lakefront, according to people familiar with the plan.
The Bears will invest more than $2 billion in private funds into the project, which will also increase open space in the area by 20%, officials said.
Its open spaces include plazas, trails, landscaped areas, and lakefront access. Its efforts to redevelop the area and create more public space have led to a lawsuit by preservation groups to prevent George Lucas from building a museum on the lakefront, and a preservation group that had previously expressed opposition to the team's construction. It appears to be intended to appease the Friends of the Parks. of the new stadium project on the museum campus.
A person familiar with the Bears' plans cited a poll showing 66% of Chicagoans support building a museum campus stadium over moving the team to the suburbs. A move to the suburbs had previously been a longtime focus for the Bears, as they purchased 326 acres in Arlington Heights in February 2023 with the intention of developing a stadium district on the property.
Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren confirmed the team's renewed intention to remain in Chicago in a statement, saying, “We are committed to contributing more than $2 billion to improve the open spaces we enjoy.” City of Chicago. ”
“The Chicago Bears' future stadium will bring transformative opportunities to our region. It will revitalize the economy, create jobs, facilitate mega-events and generate millions of dollars in tax revenue.” continued Warren. “We look forward to sharing more information once plans are finalized.”
More: Where will the Bears' new Chicago stadium be?
It is not yet clear what the total cost of the development will be or where the remaining funds for the project will come from. This change in focus comes as the Illinois General Assembly works together to finalize a single proposal to provide state funding to the Bears and Chicago White Sox (who are also seeking public funds to build a new stadium). It happened right after I gave the instructions.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker late last month questioned his willingness to spend significant public money on either stadium.
“There are fewer and fewer publicly funded stadium projects across the country, and there's a reason for that,” Pritzker said when asked about the team's efforts. We need to prove it now.” “We're actually going to move forward. I haven't seen any evidence that this is a good deal for Illinois taxpayers, but they haven't filed that case yet.”
Complicating the request for public funds is that both teams' stadiums are still in debt. The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which issued the bonds for the construction of both stadiums, owes $589 million for the 2002 renovation of Soldier Field and $50 million for guaranteed fees that opened in 1991. Some of these bonds are being paid through the state's 2% hotel. But if those revenues aren't enough to pay millions of dollars, Chicago's share of state income taxes will make up the shortfall. Guaranteed Rate's bond is scheduled to mature in 2029, but the Soldier Field contract runs through 2032.
The Bears' change in direction also comes less than three weeks after the Cook County Board of Review ruled on a long-running dispute over the team's property taxes on its Arlington Heights property.
The Cook County Assessor increased the property's value from $33 million to nearly the purchase price as the Bears were in the process of purchasing the property that once housed Arlington International Race Course for $197 million.
The Bears disputed the appraisal, claiming the property was worth $60 million. Three area school districts that rely on property taxes for funding intervened in the appeal, arguing that the value was $160 million.
After the two sides were unable to reach an agreement, a review board ruled late last month that the property was worth just under $125 million, leaving the team to pay around $9 million in taxes. became.
The Bears had hoped to build a multibillion-dollar stadium district in Arlington Heights with restaurants, retail, and residential real estate. But researchers have long argued that building there requires two things: “certainty” in property taxes and public funding for infrastructure such as roads and sewers.
The property tax dispute was one of the factors that brought Chicago's stadium back into the discussion. Another is Mayor Brandon Johnson, who publicly announced his interest in keeping the Bears in the city during his campaign last year.
He and Warren met soon after Johnson took office and promised “regular dialogue” as negotiations continued.
Johnson's predecessor, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, also expressed interest in keeping the Bears in Chicago, but emails obtained by NBC 5 Investigates reveal a fraught relationship between the Bears' administration and Chicago Park District officials. Ta. Much of the frustration stemmed from the city's refusal to consider a sportsbook at Soldier Field.
The Bears still own the Arlington Heights property. They are being paid more than $6 million a year to play at Soldier Field, according to their contract through the end of the 2033 season.
