Bears having a Wednesday Press Conference to announce new Stadium on Lakefront

[Toast88]

Ted moving out of the president position combined with Lori Lightfoot leaving the mayor’s office (both good things) ended up unfortunately torpedoing the Arlington Heights plan.

 

[bearsforever]

I still have a feeling AH will happen. Just because they are unveiling plans on what the stadium will be in Chicago, doesn't mean it's for certain happening. Remember when they bought AH? They put out a plan on what the site would look like and contain. Then they switch to the city when tax issues are going on. Just because they put a plan out there on what they intend to do on a site, doesn't mean it is 100% going to happen. They are doing their due diligence. They want to move forward. They have to have a backup plan for if AH fully falls through or the city fully falls through. Both sites are still in play. I still believe in the end, AH will be the spot. This is just further ways to get AH to concede by playing hard ball and scare tactics.

 

[Canth]

They have to keep the existing stadium because it is a National Landmark. So where is the space going to come from? Are they going to cement over Lake Michigan?

Soldier Field lost the National Landmark status on the last stadium renovation.

 

[TL1961]

I still have a feeling AH will happen. Just because they are unveiling plans on what the stadium will be in Chicago, doesn't mean it's for certain happening. Remember when they bought AH? They put out a plan on what the site would look like and contain. Then they switch to the city when tax issues are going on. Just because they put a plan out there on what they intend to do on a site, doesn't mean it is 100% going to happen. They are doing their due diligence. They want to move forward. They have to have a backup plan for if AH fully falls through or the city fully falls through. Both sites are still in play. I still believe in the end, AH will be the spot. This is just further ways to get AH to concede by playing hard ball and scare tactics.

I certainly thought discussions with Chicago and other cities were at least in large part t get AH to come to the table with something more workable.

But at this point, I don't know.

Then again, two weeks ago we were hearing the Bears and White Sox were working on a joint deal, which would be ridiculously stupid even with a baseball team that does attract fans, let alone with the White Sox. (who are currently on pace to win 22 games BTW.)

 

[BNB]

I still have a feeling AH will happen. Just because they are unveiling plans on what the stadium will be in Chicago, doesn't mean it's for certain happening. Remember when they bought AH? They put out a plan on what the site would look like and contain. Then they switch to the city when tax issues are going on. Just because they put a plan out there on what they intend to do on a site, doesn't mean it is 100% going to happen. They are doing their due diligence. They want to move forward. They have to have a backup plan for if AH fully falls through or the city fully falls through. Both sites are still in play. I still believe in the end, AH will be the spot. This is just further ways to get AH to concede by playing hard ball and scare tactics.

I thought it was a leverage tactic at the start of all of this, but I agree with @Toast88 . Sweaty Teddy seemed too prefer AH, and the Bears seemed to have 0 interest in working with Lori.

It seems like Kevin Warren has had his sights on the lakefront since he arrived, and he seems to be chummy with Brandon Johnson. Sure, you can say this is all an act by Kevin Warren, but there has been 0 indication that it is.

At this point, it seems like the Bears want the lakefront so bad that they're willing to settle for an inferior stadium while screwing Chicago taxpayers.... again.

 

[zabavka]

Soldier Field lost the National Landmark status on the last stadium renovation.

Yeah the report I read about Wednesday says they plan to level the existing stadium.

For those who say the McCaskeys aren't cheap, if they really had balls and some vision they'd build in Arlington Heights.

Re doing downtown is a cheap move that burdens everyday Joe's instead of their own bank accounts.

 

[Black Rainbow]

I know plenty who love it. You have to get out more often my friend.

This guy thought the only reason to not want Justin Fields as your QB was racism.

...keep that in mind.

 

[KittiesKorner]

lol at soldier field being downtown

 

[Bust]

I still have a feeling AH will happen.

no
it
is
over

 

[Rise]

Sad day for Bears fans. The main draw to downtown is the skyline when watching the games. That is really the only advantage and with a dome that will be gone or more likely reduced with glass. The area sucks for a game day experience.

Gigantic missed opportunity. I don’t live in the state anymore but I would have visited Arlington heights Bears World. I’ve been there and done that battling that downtown area, no thanks.

Luckily I can watch them in a ton of stadiums here in the southeast that all have parking and a fun experience. People in the Midwest who support this probably wanted to keep Fields, and have lived in one area their entire life. They don’t have the vision for change.

 

[KittiesKorner]

As I always said they should build a new one in rezkoville with easy access to target and water taxi and our beautiful sanitary and shipping canal

 

[Spitta Andretti]

personally i wanted a new stadium because soldier field fucking sucked. didnt really care where but thought the lakefront would have been harder to accomplish

 

[PrideisBears]

This guy thought the only reason to not want Justin Fields as your QB was racism.

...keep that in mind.

Please stick to the topic at hand

 

[remydat]

Funny how most commenting have no clue how stadiums work. Jerry Jones doesnt own the Cowboys stadium. The City of Arlington does. The vast majority of stadiums in the NFL are publicly owned for the simple reason they are costly to maintain for the other 350 days a year they are not holding events.

Said from the start downtown Chicago made the most sense. It is absolutely crazy for anyone to lend the McCaskey's the $5 billion + it would take to build Arlington when they have limited to no real estate development experience.

Stadium and rent details for all 32 NFL teams

What do NFL teams pay in rent? How much did their stadiums cost to build? We have the details.

www.google.com

4 teams own their stadium. 5 if you add in that the Rams stadium is owned bt Kroenke Sports. People legit crying because Bears are doing what 27 out of 32 NFL teams have done.

 

[Forty-six]

The last two NFL stadiums to be built are SoFi and Allegiant. Both of those facilities are sparkling jewels and offer their fanbase an incredible game day experience. The Bears' new stadium needs to be on that level or I'll consider this entire episode a complete failure. The only thing the lake site can offer over the AH site is an iconic and historic location along the lake. That's it. Every other metric favors the AH site.

Does anybody know how big the proposed site is along the lake? It seems tiny which would limit what could be built there. I have no faith in the McCaskey family and fear this will go horribly awry.

 

[remydat]

The last two NFL stadiums to be built are SoFi and Allegiant. Both of those facilities are sparkling jewels and offer their fanbase an incredible game day experience. The Bears' new stadium needs to be on that level or I'll consider this entire episode a complete failure. The only thing the lake site can offer over the AH site is an iconic and historic location along the lake. That's it. Every other metric favors the AH site.

Does anybody know how big the proposed site is along the lake? It seems tiny which would limit what could be built there. I have no faith in the McCaskey family and fear this will go horribly awry.

The irony here is you have no faith in the McCaskeys but you are advocating for AH which was their and Sweaty Teddy's idea. Meanwhile the guy that actually helped build a stadium looked at the AH plan and pivoted to Chicago.

 

[Bust]

The irony here is you have no faith in the McCaskeys but you are advocating for AH which was their and Sweaty Teddy's idea. Meanwhile the guy that actually helped build a stadium looked at the AH plan and pivoted to Chicago.

Tru dat! sounds like AH school districts thought they had it in the bag and tried to milk the Bears to the last drop and not negotiating in good faith. Good on Kevin for walking away! I bet AH suits are butt hurt.

At a January 30 Board of Review hearing on the issue, the Bears’ attorney said the team submitted two appraisals, one for $60 million and the other for $71 million. The Bears’ lawyer argued the Assessor’s Office inflated the value of the land relative to other, similarly sized sales, asking the Board of Review to reduce the value to $60 million.

In that same hearing, the school districts’ attorney said the appraisal they submitted found the site to be worth $160 million, leaving a $100 million gap between the two sides.

Bears, school districts fail to reach deal on Arlington Heights property value by deadline

The Chicago Bears and three suburban school districts were unable to reach a deal on the value of the team’s Arlington Heights property by their Saturday deadline, sending the dispute back to the Cook County Board of Review to make a decision that could have major implications for the team’s...

www.nbcchicago.com

 

[Butkus34]

Actually the Arlington Heights plan goes back to Papa Bear Halas who wanted that land in the 70s. I'm sure the family wanted to fulfill that wish that never materialized for Papa Bear.

It started with George Halas in 1975: Chicago Bears again make an overture for Arlington Park

In 1975, Chicago Bears founder George S. Halas made his first pitch to relocate his team from Soldier Field to Arlington Park. Fast forward 46 years to Thursday afternoon, when a similar overture was...

www.dailyherald.com

 

[BNB]

Funny how most commenting have no clue how stadiums work. Jerry Jones doesnt own the Cowboys stadium. The City of Arlington does. The vast majority of stadiums in the NFL are publicly owned for the simple reason they are costly to maintain for the other 350 days a year they are not holding events.

Said from the start downtown Chicago made the most sense. It is absolutely crazy for anyone to lend the McCaskey's the $5 billion + it would take to build Arlington when they have limited to no real estate development experience.

Stadium and rent details for all 32 NFL teams

What do NFL teams pay in rent? How much did their stadiums cost to build? We have the details.

www.google.com

4 teams own their stadium. 5 if you add in that the Rams stadium is owned bt Kroenke Sports. People legit crying because Bears are doing what 27 out of 32 NFL teams have done.

I can't speak for everyone, but I don't think this is about knowing whether or not most teams rent vs. own their stadium. It's about the fact that Chicagoans haven't even finished paying off the last terrible stadium renovation, and while we don't know the details yet, it seems like the city of Chicago will be on the hook for a good chunk of what will be needed to get this new project done. In addition to that, when you look at recent inflation, rent going through the roof in Chicago, interest rates going up, etc., almost no one here has an appetite to pay more in taxes for a stadium at a location that majority of Chicagoans don't want.

Maybe it would be easier to swallow if the gameday experience would be infinitely better, but based on the location they want to build the stadium in, I can't see how it would be better. It will just be a newer stadium with similar issues as the existing location.

EDIT: Forgot to include that the city has done a shit job at helping with updates and renovations with SF. Why would we think they'd get any better at it now with the new stadium?

 

[Bust]

Actually the Arlington Heights plan goes back to Papa Bear Halas who wanted that land in the 70s. I'm sure the family wanted to fulfill that wish that never materialized for Papa Bear.

Bears will convert it into another Bears themed Gallagher way on steroids.

Schaumburg/Arlington is a mini metropolis onto itself. A bears themed park would become a cash cow money maker for everyone involved.

The Ricketts not only talked the talk but walked the walk . . .can Caleb and the bears do same?