NEWSLETTER
With on-field news and football nuggets slowing down (as it always does) during that stretch between the end of OTAs and start of training camp, I expected we’d get a sprinkling of Chicago Bears stadium projects updates to hold us over.
Lo and behold, it’s happening. Just as I suspected it would.
On Monday, CHGO’s Mark Carman reported the Bears are making progress with Arlington Heights regarding their stadium deal. We discussed the report here, giving it some additional depth and perspective as the latest twist in the Bears stadium saga came as a bit of a surprise. Sure, there is a part of me that expects Chicago’s football team to move to the suburbs. It’s just that I don’t know how the franchise will go about doing it. Hence, following this storyline is fun for me.
One day later, Carman delivers another update:
There are two noteworthy takeaways to come away with from the latest update from Carm. Firstly, it is Arlington Heights angling to keep the team interested in building a stadium out in the suburbs as the Bears continue ironing out their tax situation on the Arlington Park property they own. This isn’t quite the Bears ditching their Chicago plan, even if it is how it felt when yesterday’s report dropped. The second thing worth underscoring here is Carman mentioning that the team maintains its focus is on building a stadium along the downtown lakefront in Chicago as part of a Museum Campus upgrade.
We’ve heard singular focus from the Bears before, so I’m taking that anecdote with a grain of salt. But I digress. What a fascinating development we’ve got in front of our faces.
Chicago Bears stadium watch: How did we get here?
It is equal parts fascinating and annoying that we are watching the plans laid out by former team President and CEO Ted Phillips clash with what his replacement, Kevin Warren, has going on with his plans. Frankly, all I care about at this point is the Chicago Bears winning Super Bowls in a state-of-the-art stadium that is representative of a fanbase and city that deserves better than what it has been given — in terms of the type of team that is being fielded and the park in which it plays its games.
In quiet moments, I think about how wild it is that we’ve made it to this point. Chicago Bears stadium watch had humble beginnings with the Bears hosting an open house in Arlington Heights to share a sneak peek of their plans on the same night the NFL kicked off its 2022 season. Shortly after that, we began digging in on what this plan entailed. At the time, it felt like a move to the Arlington Park property was a foregone conclusion. And more than that, it felt like Ted Phillips’ time as a Bears executive was going to end on a high note.
Since then, Kevin Warren has taken over for Ted Phillips. And even though Warren initially stood firm with the team’s plans to build on the site of Arlington Park, a dispute rooted in how much in taxes the Bears would be paying on the land nudged the team to inquire about other sites. Naperville, Waukegan, and Aurora were among the places that took advantage of the stalemate between the team and Arlington Heights to make their pitches to be the next Bears stadium home. However, it was a return to Chicago — which included a proposal that floated a $2 billion investment from the team and stadium renderings — that ended up being the next big story on this timeline.
Naturally, that isn’t where the story ended. This ordeal is ongoing because a hefty public investment from taxpayers is a “non-starter” in the eyes of the governor’s office. Not too long after that became public, the Illinois legislature put the Bears stadium proposal on the back burner. And now there is pressure on the team to put more into their pitch. Weeks later, we find ourselves here with Arlington Heights making literal signs of good faith and maintaining its interest in being the future home site of Bears football.
Is it exhausting? Yes. Will it end? Eventually. But for now, it is fascinating stuff that figures to have more twists and turns ahead.
Keep an eye on the Carolina Panthers stadium situation
Given that we’re keeping a watchful eye on what happens with the Bears stadium situation, it would make sense to take into account what is happening elsewhere in the league with other teams and their quests for new stadiums. One such stadium situation I think is worth following is what is happening with the Carolina Panthers and city of Charlotte.
On Tuesday, the Charlotte City Council voted in favor of the proposal to renovate the Carolina Panthers’ stadium. The joint venture between Charlotte and the Panthers includes the city paying $650 million toward renovating Bank of America Stadium. In return, team owner David Tipper agrees to keep the team in Charlotte through 2045 and will pay $150 million up front. It is becoming increasingly rare to see public money flow into private investments, but that is what is happening here:
Politics in Illinois and North Carolina fall under that old adage about apples and oranges both being fruits, albeit very different types of fruits. It is tough to envision Illinois and Cook County giving the green light to a plan in which more than 80 percent of a new Bears stadium is footed by taxpayers. But on the other hand, I can see the Bears using the Panthers plan as a framework for a pitch. For what it’s worth, Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren proposed to invest $2 billion to go toward a stadium in downtown Chicago. I imagine that if the team renews its interest in Arlington Heights as a stadium site, that number will pop up again.
