Long Road to Arlington Heights for the Bears

[dbldrew]

Huh, only $90 in revenues, wow!

I may be a little rusty with my math but $90M seems like more than the $5M that the Bears pay yearly for use of Soldier Field. Goodness if you factor in the cost of maintaining the field, facilities, and game day wear and tear, the city is likely losing $millions on the Bears. Maybe Mayor Sid should kindly ask them to leave.

yep, and not to mention that 1.65 million people that go the the field museum every year. thats 1.65million people spending money at other business, going out to eat, getting coffee, cabs uber etc now compare that to a seating capacity of only 61,000 with a 2021 schedule of 8 reg season home games and 2 preseason games.. My math is a little rusty as well but that looks like over 1 million less people then the Field Museum.

The funny thing is if they are only paying 5mil in a lease for soldier field, if they build a stadium that has 25,000 more seats at $200 a pop, one game pays the 5 mil lease payment, they dont even have to get out of the lease.. just keep paying it and sub leasing the field to more soccer matches and concerts lol

 

[CHIBEAR]

You dont grow a city on feelings & nostalgia. The facts are the facts. The Field Museum tax filings are public record. In 2019 they reported $90M gross revenue and $80M in expenses. Thats a $10M net.

Field Museum of Natural History | Chicago, IL | Cause IQ

Field Museum: Research and education center with four science centers, providing maintenance and security services, located in Chicago, IL.

www.causeiq.com

All the Field Museum has of value are the artifacts themselves. Which is why they've been selling off artifacts to private buyers and other museums to pay for employee salaries. They've be offering forced early retirement payments to some of their curators because they cant afford to keep them on payroll. The Museum is in debt. Operating in the red year after year by being bailed out by government grants & bonds.

Chicago's Famed Field Museum Struggles To Dig Out Of A Hole

The museum, already hard-hit by the economic crash, didn't meet projected fundraising and attendance numbers, and now must make up a $5 million budget deficit. The shortfall forced it to sell some items in its renowned collection.

www.npr.org

Which is why I said it'd be smart to move the artifacts to another location in the city and have the museum there. Because as it currently sits the Field Museum is literally not worth the land it sits on.

Dude you are embarrassing yourself the area you are talking about is the most popular tourist destination in the Midwest and one of the most popular in the whole US . Pre-covid Chicago was 3rd or 4th in overall tourists in 60 million per year ?

I cant even believe you are trying to make this argument without it being some sorta joke . The Field museum has a 500 million dollars endowment ,the art institute has over a billion dollar endowment ,the Shedd 250 million so these places are going nowhere .

This is one of the biggest problems with a Bears stadium in the city is that the Bears want the city to support them when they really should be trying to convince them to partner up .This is why the most important thing for the Bears future is new ownership

 

[TheWinman]

Lightfoot and the city officials are stupid if they let the Bears leave the downtown area. A smart business minded Mayor would give up the entire f'ing museum campus area over there to accomadate a state-of-the-art facility and all its glory. Who the hell goes to the museum these days anyway. How much revenue does that bring in? Move that shit to the west loop or something. City could capitalize on Super Bowls, Final Fours, hotels. But the city is still living in the past. The future of tourism is accesibilty to millenials. Video boards, displays, events, etc. Times Square type look. Not old architecutre and museum sightseeing. These kids dont care about that stuff anymore.

Excuse the typos, driving...

Here is the post that has everyone else agreeing that this post of yours is the most idiotic thing anyone has ever suggested.. YOu did it, you brought us all together.

 

[46FEVER]

Here is the post that has everyone else agreeing that this post of yours is the most idiotic thing anyone has ever suggested.. YOu did it, you brought us all together.

This made my night. Troll attempt? I think he is actually serious.

While we are at it who needs the Navy Pier?

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

what taxpayers?

Arlington's entire 2020 budget was only $177 million

seems like you think taxes are magic

...

State taxes dude. Not city. State. That's how other stadiums got funded, at least in part.

 

[botfly10]

...

State taxes dude. Not city. State. That's how other stadiums got funded, at least in part.

why do you think IL and Arlington will cough up all this money when they refused to last time?

what is different this time around?

I mean, I see you just waving your hands like you're a magician. but still no explanation of why all the sudden everyone would be willing to double or triple the tax contribution.

you a weird dude

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

why do you think IL and Arlington will cough up all this money when they refused to last time?

what is different this time around?

I mean, I see you just waving your hands like you're a magician. but still no explanation of why all the sudden everyone would be willing to double or triple the tax contribution.

you a weird dude

You're taking this awfully personally to get so insulting.

And you also are factually incorrect.

At least as of 2016, Illinois taxpayers are still paying for the soldier Field renovations that happened a while ago: Illinois taxpayers paying for billionaires’ stadiums

 

[botfly10]

You're taking this awfully personally to get so insulting.

And you also are factually incorrect.

At least as of 2016, Illinois taxpayers are still paying for the soldier Field renovations that happened a while ago: Illinois taxpayers paying for billionaires’ stadiums

yeah, renovation cause they could not get chicago or il to pay enough for a new stadium

why do you think the bears would get more tax money in Arlington than they got in Chicago?

that was the question in the first place

are you doing this on purpose?

 

[85Bears]

Its an absolutely fucking massive lot. They could build 3 stadiums and a fucking hotel + casino on it if they wanted to. Thats why people who tell me the bears aren't serious are freakin crazy.

Shit, they could even leave Arlington Park in business and still have a state of the art stadium and a hotel. And lol at getting rid of the Field Museum...

 

[Southside]

Doesn't matter if she's out of office she's a season ticket holder but why you think the next mayor wouldn't represent he cities interests ?

The NFL would want all this stuff to be sorted out before they even got remotely involved and the McCaskey's just don't have the juice or the money.

The Stadium would still be in Cook County which adds all sorts of problems and anyone familiar with state ,city, county politics knows this .

Exactly, suburbanites are exposing themselves in this thread. It doesn't matter who the mayor is, no mayor of Chicago is going to easily let the Bears move. Im no fan of Lightfoot, but out of towners and suburbanites are obsessed with Lori Lightfoot as if crime, gangs, and crooked politics hasn't existed here for 100 years. When people start complaining about things that have been occurring in Chicago since forever and then linking it to specific politicians then you can tell that they aren't from here. Those of us who live in the city just ignore the politicians and live our lives. Everything going on now has ALWAYS gone on. The mayor being black and gay just brings more attention.

I blame the Trump era and the election of an unqualified president, which has allowed every bum and ignoramus on the street to become over opinionated trolls when it comes to politics. All 5 major teams play in the city and the Bears play in Downtown, what mayor is going to just let them leave? Also, no mayor of Chicago would give a damn about how much money the McCaskey's could make moving, which is why I think it's weird when people bring up the revenue that the new stadium would generate. These dudes are already rich, and people are struggling financially in the city, as if we care about how much money the owners make. Virginia is worth 2.4 billion right now, the Bears are already one of the most valuable franchises. How much money do they give back to the fans? Do they pay your bills? Put gas in your car? Put food in your fridge? Nope. We watch the Bears for entertainment and care about wins and losses. Since when did Bears fans ever care about the ownership? Same ownership which hasn't won a title in decades. Which is why I'm confused why people keep talking about money and team value. If the McCaskey's sold the team we'd all still be fans because we are fans of the team not the owner, so I don't understand the obsession with how much money a move to Arlington Heights makes for the McCaskey family.

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

yeah, renovation cause they could not get chicago or il to pay enough for a new stadium

why do you think the bears would get more tax money in Arlington than they got in Chicago?

that was the question in the first place

are you doing this on purpose?

Are you even aware of the whole story?

They ended up having to renovate soldier Field because mayor Richard Daley strong-armed them into staying and because Mike McCaskey was fouling up the negotiation so badly.

Ted Phillips had to come in and do a salvage job, and at that point because of Mike McCaskey, they had to take whatever they could get at the time.

They just as easily could have moved to Arlington heights back then but Mike McCaskey is the sole reason why everything ended up so screwed up.

And ultimately it is why he was replaced by George.

 

[iueyedoc]

Exactly, suburbanites are exposing themselves in this thread. It doesn't matter who the mayor is, no mayor of Chicago is going to easily let the Bears move. Im no fan of Lightfoot, but out of towners and suburbanites are obsessed with Lori Lightfoot as if crime, gangs, and crooked politics hasn't existed her for 100 years. When people start complaining about things that have been occurring in Chicago since forever and then linking it to specific politicians then you can tell that they aren't from here. Both of us who live in the city just ignore the politicians and live our lives. Everything going on now has ALWAYS gone on. The mayor being black and gay just brings more attention.

I blame the Trump era and the election of an unqualified president, which has allowed every bum and ignoramus on the street has become over opinionated trolls when it comes to politics. All 5 major teams play in the city and the Bears play in Downtown, what mayor is going to just let them leave? Also, no mayor of Chicago would give a damn about how much money the McCaskey's could make moving, which is why I think it's weird when people bring up the revenue that the new stadium would generate. These dudes are already rich, and people are struggling financially in the city, as if we care about how much money the owners make. Virginia is worth 2.4 billion right now,

LOL, "what mayor is going to just let them leave?"


She has absolutely zero ability to make it hard for them to leave. The penalty for leaving early would be more than covered by any naming rights (Lucas Oil paid $120M to Indy). The Bears would likely get upwards of $200M.

That's like your girlfriend leaving your for a richer guy that lives in a Magnificent Mile penthouse and you telling her if she leaves, you aren't going to give her back her half of the apartment security deposit.

Adding the additional seating revenue, and non Bears usage of the stadium, and the Bears are as good as gone.

Trib article today lays it out nicely:

When the Chicago Bears recently announced a bid to buy land for a possible new stadium in Arlington Heights, Mayor Lori Lightfoot cast doubt on the team skipping town by holding up its lease with the city.

“The Bears are locked into a lease at Soldier Field until 2033,” Lightfoot said in a statement, dismissing the possibility of the charter NFL franchise leaving Chicago after 100 years as “noise.”

A Chicago Tribune review of the team’s 120-page lease with the city, however, shows that it would not be difficult for the Bears to break the agreement early — and the payment to do so would be relatively small compared with the cost of building a new state-of-the-art stadium.


If the Bears were to break the lease five years from now, in 2026, the team would have to pay $84 million in damages to the city, the analysis found. That estimate assumes the Bears’ inflation-adjusted payments to the city would continue to rise at a pace similar to increases since the lease’s inception in 2003. If the team waited beyond 2026 to leave Soldier Field, the financial penalty would be less.

The Tribune analysis found the potential fines if the Bears broke the lease in subsequent years would be $74 million in 2027; $63.8 million in 2028; $53.3 million in 2029; $42.7 million in 2030; $32.1 million in 2031; $21.6 million in 2032; and $11 million in 2033.

The Bears partner with the owners of the land they are bidding on, but you know...nothing to see here.

The racecourse is owned by Churchill Downs Inc., which plans to close the facility and sell it following the conclusion of racing season. Just days after the team announced it had bid for the property, the Bears announced a deal with Rivers Casino to become the franchise’s exclusive sportsbook and casino.

Churchill has a 61% stake in Rivers Casino, with gambling magnate Neil Bluhm’s Rush Street Gaming also owning a share. The partnership only has further fueled speculation about a Bears move.

Bears headed north for the winter...all of them.

 

[Gustavus Adolphus]

Here is the post that has everyone else agreeing that this post of yours is the most idiotic thing anyone has ever suggested.. YOu did it, you brought us all together.

Please don’t think this changes the fact that you’re King of the Idiots, because you’re still very stupid.

 

[Bearly]

LOL, "what mayor is going to just let them leave?"


She has absolutely zero ability to make it hard for them to leave. The penalty for leaving early would be more than covered by any naming rights (Lucas Oil paid $120M to Indy). The Bears would likely get upwards of $200M.

That's like your girlfriend leaving your for a richer guy that lives in a Magnificent Mile penthouse and you telling her if she leaves, you aren't going to give her back her half of the apartment security deposit.

Adding the additional seating revenue, and non Bears usage of the stadium, and the Bears are as good as gone.

Been pointing this our for days and the same guys keep coming up with the same silly narratives. The only things i can see keeping the Bear in Chicago is the city / Mayor regrouping and coming up with a better plan to keep them and even that would be a Hail Mary. It's really not the Bears fault if they leave. It's the city giving them the worst deal in the NFL to stay.

Bears went from the the NFL's smallest venue at Wrigley to the least accommodating at old Soldier Field to the least profitable at the rebuild. The city even got the Bear to pay for a good portion of the renovation, of something the Bears have no ownership stake in and still needed to lease. They even paid another $50m to cover overages. I think the Bear spent about $230m by the time it finished. They took that deal to stay in the city and at that venue. The landmark status restrictions were a disaster, especially since they were removed right after the build. The City had Sweaty Teddy between a rock and a hard place and he flinched.

City charges $50 just to park for games. the concessions are meh and costly, the playing surface is poor and assured to stay that way with other events and Park District maintenance. Global warming has made conditions more BEARable of late but paying that kind of cash to sit in sub 20* weather or pouring rain to watch a game is goofy. Bear weather false bravado will be claimed but the game has passed that by. Can you get some home field advantage? Sure but what happens when you then play the SB in great weather or a dome and you've been cloud of dusting it for the last 6 games on a slow track?

Bears couldn't afford to do it on their own in 2001 but they are worth over 7 times what they were then, can easily finance this if they have to and need to look to a future that the city can't provide.

 

[Visionman]

Exactly, suburbanites are exposing themselves in this thread. It doesn't matter who the mayor is, no mayor of Chicago is going to easily let the Bears move. Im no fan of Lightfoot, but out of towners and suburbanites are obsessed with Lori Lightfoot as if crime, gangs, and crooked politics hasn't existed here for 100 years. When people start complaining about things that have been occurring in Chicago since forever and then linking it to specific politicians then you can tell that they aren't from here. Those of us who live in the city just ignore the politicians and live our lives. Everything going on now has ALWAYS gone on. The mayor being black and gay just brings more attention.

I blame the Trump era and the election of an unqualified president, which has allowed every bum and ignoramus on the street to become over opinionated trolls when it comes to politics. All 5 major teams play in the city and the Bears play in Downtown, what mayor is going to just let them leave? Also, no mayor of Chicago would give a damn about how much money the McCaskey's could make moving, which is why I think it's weird when people bring up the revenue that the new stadium would generate. These dudes are already rich, and people are struggling financially in the city, as if we care about how much money the owners make. Virginia is worth 2.4 billion right now, the Bears are already one of the most valuable franchises. How much money do they give back to the fans? Do they pay your bills? Put gas in your car? Put food in your fridge? Nope. We watch the Bears for entertainment and care about wins and losses. Since when did Bears fans ever care about the ownership? Same ownership which hasn't won a title in decades. Which is why I'm confused why people keep talking about money and team value. If the McCaskey's sold the team we'd all still be fans because we are fans of the team not the owner, so I don't understand the obsession with how much money a move to Arlington Heights makes for the McCaskey family.

I find it funny how you say true Chicagoans don’t care about politics, we just live our lives, and then proceed to blame Trump for everything…lol ?

But your attitude is probably why Chicago has had bad and corrupt politicians destroying the city for a hundred years, as you say…because you and others don’t care.

 

[Bearly]

This isn't political as far as the Bear are concerned. They have a once in a lifetime opportunity to improve their status and get out from under the city's thumb.

 

[msadows]

Actually, the large gray areas are parking that is also part of the parcel. Much bigger that just the colored area.
This is the plot.
View attachment 12455

lol those large gray areas are in color, they are just gray cause they are parking lots.

 

[Bearly]

lol those large gray areas are in color, they are just gray cause they are parking lots.

If you say so. Sure makes it difficult to define the space, doesn't it? Wasn't that the purpose?

 

[TheWinman]

Please don’t think this changes the fact that you’re King of the Idiots, because you’re still very stupid.

Says the King of idiots himself. now STFU

 

[CHIBEAR]

This isn't political as far as the Bear are concerned. They have a once in a lifetime opportunity to improve their status and get out from under the city's thumb.

You break the lease and it does become political when you are not even leaving the county and would need large scale capital improvement projects done on the scale some of you are mentioning .