CHICAGO — The Mayor of Arlington Heights is anxiously awaiting the Chicago Bears plan to unveil their stadium plans Wednesday, for what’s expected to be a state of the art, publicly owned, domed stadium … On the lakefront.
“I understand we’ve said all along for the last year they have to do their due diligence and get the best deal in what’s best for their football club,” said Tom Hayes, Mayor of Arlington Heights. “We look forward to them refocusing back in this direction if they get a ‘no’ on the lakefront.”
Back in March, the Bears said they would contribute $2 billion toward a projected $3 billion lakefront stadium project. It’s unclear how much public money the team is seeking and if the city would pitch in to help cover infrastructure improvements around the museum campus.
According to previous reports, the lakefront plan would include open green space and could involve building a new stadium in the parking lot on the south side of Soldier Field.
“I would like to see the stadium stay up, see the columns on Lake Shore Drive,” said Jack Silverstein, the Chicago Bears historian for SB Nation’s Windy City Gridiron. “Even with the renovation in 2002-2003, we saw the spaceship.
“I still love seeing those columns. It still feels like the city to me and whatever they’re going to do, I hope they do it with the city and people in mind.”
The announcement comes just a day ahead of the NFL Draft, where the Bears hold the No. 1 and 9 overall picks, and more than a year after the team bought the $197 million Arlington International Racecourse — The location the Bears once said was their sole focus to build a new stadium.
That stadium pursuit in the northwest suburbs hit a pair of roadblocks in the form of a dispute over property taxes with several local school districts, and the arrival of new team leadership in Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren, who has a history of maneuvering through economic and legal hurdles to build sports stadiums in major US cities.
Despite the two, Hayes said he still feels Arlington Heights is the best location for the team.
“From day one, the Bears have told us they want to own their own stadium, and want property around the stadium to build a multi-use development that can hold game day experiences,” Hayes said. “We’ve got 326 acres of prime real estate in the northwest suburbs in the heart of their fandom.”
