[Daniel Greenberg] Marc Ganis who is the president of Sportscorp said on @mullyhaugh that he has been told that Chicago Bears president/CE0 Kevin Warren and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have scheduled a sit down meeting about a possible stadium site other than Soldier Field.
Marc Ganis who is the president of Sportscorp said on @mullyhaugh that he has been told that Chicago Bears president/CE0 Kevin Warren and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have scheduled a sit down meeting about a possible stadium site other than Soldier Field.
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) June 5, 2023
35 comments
I’m not from the Chicago, I’ve only visited once this past year. But where in the city could they put a stadium
Has to be a smokescreen. They seem so done with the city.
I say develop South Works. It’s not livable land and it’s just sitting there. You’ve already got the horseshoe casino nearby as well (though maybe the Bears would prefer to have their own casino?)
It has to be a smokescreen, but if AH collapsed after everything they’ve done for it so far and they stayed in Chicago, that would be insane.
Chicago and gentrification, name a more iconic duo
Why is it a 0 in CEO?
Johnson is in favor on the new massive One Central Chicago proposal right at Soldier Field that also increases transit there (which I’ve believed the entire time is what they want if they can make it work). The South Shore US Steel Works site has always been rumored as well.
I care about exactly two things with regards to a new stadium.
For the love of Halas, give us 75000 seats.
For the love of Halas, give us parking that can accommodate the actual crowd needs.
Everything else is a footnote that will cause complaints no matter what, but capacity and parking are non-negotiable
Give them the Soldier Field land and sell them part of McCormick.
Get the Park District out of the loop and try to keep it in the city if that’s what you’re going to do. That’s the only way this happens. Bears want to own their own stadium. Fuck the park district.
The Bears paid $600,000 per acre for the arlington property.
I just don’t understand it. Are there buildings that they will end up using?
A good location could be one of the many parking craters around the UC or Sox park. Good transit access, relatively close to the city center (compared to say South Works), and can convert other parking to garages rather than surface lots for suburbanites driving in.
The vacant lot on 31st and King makes so much sense. The land where the old hospital used to be
I’ve been saying it for years, the city should just give them that land and let them do whatever they want with it.
i think this all of a sudden looking at alternate sites is just a smokescreen, trying to show Arlington Heights they have options. They just spent 200 million to buy the race track, and are currently spending millions in demolition. Sure they could try to flip it, but how many other billion dollar projects in the area looking to jump in on that land? Bears are too cheap to eat that kinda cost and start over on another piece of land.
This is all them trying to play hardball with Arlington Heights over property tax disputes. AH aint gonna let this golden goose slip away, they will work something out and the Bears will be in Arlington Heights in under a decade.
ITT: people who generally bitch and moan about the disastrous financial situation our state is under who today have decided to white knight for a family of Billionaires because they think the tax bill is too much
The bears hold all the cards now. They have purchased the AH land and recently got permission to start demolition. They can show the city of chicago they arent bluffing about the move.
Its really up to the mayor now to “move heaven and earth to keep the bears in the city”, which could be good for both sides and the bears still have the AH land as a real estate asset to sell or develop in other ways.
Bears are likely doing this to show they invited the city’s new mayor to try to keep them there, but its more due diligence than anything at this point before they break land in AH.
Just posturing. Arlington people are pissed about the racetrack being gone so there is pushback from local officials. They will build their Bears village in that spot in Arlington
He mean stadium site other than Arlington Heights?
There have to be vacant lots in Chicago (example Reese Hospital 2016 Olympic venue) that can be used for the Bears stadium. Even if they to demo some buildings.
The Chicago Fire got 30 acres to build a new facility on the west side, something can be built.
QUESTION– How much land does a new stadium actually need?
EDIT- *Stadium and add ons (transportation, parking, stores, etc)
The move honestly is to move them to a temporary home, and build a Brand new Solider Field on the same spot, get rid of the Waldren lot and maybe most the opposing lot, and build it with the capacity they need and a roof. And this is gping to be unpopular but give the organization an extended tax break, if you want them in the city you need to prove it and not make them feel like nothing more than a cash cow, like Lightfoot did.
I work on the Musuem campus alot, there’s more space than you realize if it’s utilized properly
Anything is still possible bro!
Suprise! AH will be the site of the new state of the art practice facility lol
The time for having leverage in negotiations pertaining to tax incentives was before you spent $200mil on the land. If I’m AH/Cook County, I’m calling their bluff–what are the Bears/McCaskeys gonna do, leave the land vacant? No, they’ll either flip it to someone who will make it productive or they’ll make it productive themselves–but in either case something that will provide economic benefits is going in there.
I know it’s logistically not feasible, but overhauling northerly island and turning it into a stadium/commercial hub would instantly make it one of the most jawdroppingly beautiful stadiums in the country.
It’s probably just posturing, but I like the idea
LFG fuck the burbs!!! CHICAGO Bears baby!!!!
The old LeClaire Courts site is still just sitting there. Just an open field. Came to say don’t put it there.
The concern I have with Metra/AH is that it’s pretty slow and somewhat inefficient. But my expectation is they’ll have an express line on gamedays that’ll go straight to AH.
Classic leverage play. Makes no sense for the Bears to stay in Chicago unless they get Soldier Field for peanuts and then get surrounding land to expand.
I can’t think of another realistic site either that doesn’t come with serious environmental issues or crime/poverty.
This is all clout so the Bears get the incentives from the village and county. They don’t want to pay for everything and not get any tax breaks. I doubt they consider anything unless the offer is too good to pass up (meaning someone else pays for a big portion of it).
If they could somehow fit it into the Lincoln Yards project, it would have close access to the Kennedy and lots of public transportation!
Replace Hawthorne Track in Cicero? Or build it in Lincoln Yards?
They’ve been talking about this new neighborhood development called 78 forever and have never made any strides.
That’s a beautiful cut of land in the city. Pretty close to Soldier Field itself, just headed west on Roosevelt until you reach the river.
Build Bearsville there then build the neighborhood around it.
It’s prudent to at least talk. All new players at the table. No reason not to at least take a meeting.