REPORT: Bears To Arlington Could Be Dead. Chicago Lakefront Now The Primary Focus For New Stadium

According to Greg Hinz of Crain’s Chicago Business, the Bears are re-focusing on the lakefront in Chicago as the location to construct their new stadium.

The Bears would build a state-of-the-art domed stadium on the Soldier Field south lot with the goal of hosting Super Bowls, Final Fours and other events, which was the plan in Arlington Heights, as well.

“I live downtown. I love the city. And I just think we’re blessed to be able to live in a city like Chicago. It has many pluses. I’m a big proponent of the Chicagoland area. I’m a big proponent of Arlington Heights, but there’s something that’s really special about downtown Chicago.”--Kevin Warren

Round and round and back home again? Kevin Warren has been dropping crumbs about Chicago being in the mix for the next home of the Bears even before the season with that letter to season ticket holders. Now apparently the Lake Front is back in the pole position. I like the idea of the Bears staying at the Soldier Field site if they get it right. Getting it right means easier transportation, a bigger capacity, better amenities, and probably a roof for all of those other big ticket events. That feels like a lot to accomplish when you have limited space down there because of Museums, the lake, and highways blocking more acreage for the project. 

My gut says that the Bears are doing this as a negotiating ploy. The Bears already sunk $200M into the Arlington Heights property. There's no way they'd get their money back on that property if they decided to stay in Chicago. Reports are that the Arlington Heights school board is valuing the property at $160M for tax purposes. The Bears have it at $60-70M. Big gap, obviously. 

I'd love to know what the City is offering because I can't imagine the Bears wanting to enter into another lease agreement with the Parks Dept. They need to own their own stadium. Would the City sell them the land? Would the city pay for the re-development of that area?

If the Bears do stay downtown and the Sox move to that general area then the South Loop will be booming. I've always loved this idea. It looks perfect

Brandon Johnson is up to his eyeballs in a migrant crisis and million other issues, but it feels like so much of the Bears to Arlington was not wanting to deal with Lori Lightfoot. That got ugly and personal in the public. Like anything else in life sometimes it just comes down to "I don't fucking like that person". Maybe a new voice at the negotiating table is enough to get the dream Soldier Field.