McCaskey's plan called for a $285 million new stadium for the Bears, and he wanted $185 million to come from state funding and the remaining $100 million from private investors.
The idea of the Bears moving to Aurora or anywhere else was immediately unpopular among plenty of sports fans. On The Score sports radio at the time, one caller said, "Rich Daley will lose the election for sure if the Bears move out."
For his part, Daley famously reacted early on to the prospect of the Bears moving from Soldier Field by saying, "They can go to Alaska."
Daley in other comments reported by CBS 2 said he wanted to see the Bears stay, but also said he believed education was more important than sports.
There was also speculation about the possibility of the Bears leaving the Chicago area altogether. The Rams and Raiders had both left Los Angeles for St. Louis and Oakland, respectively, and Baltimore had lost the Colts to Indianapolis 11 years earlier and wouldn't acquire the Ravens until the following year.
Since losing the Colts, Baltimore had had a standing offer of a $200 million open-air football only stadium rent free for any team that relocated there, as CBS 2 reported at the time.
But the Bears' focus remained on Chicago area locations, and after they could not get government money for a suburban home in Illinois, they turned to a plan for a $482 million new stadium and entertainment complex in Gary, Indiana called Planet Park.
As reported by the Associated Press at the time, the complex on the southern shore of Lake Michigan would have included a three-tiered stadium with 9,000 club seats and 138 skyboxes, surrounded by a midway-entertainment concourse, a Bears hall of fame, and parking for 25,000 cars. A second phase of construction would have included a nine-hole golf course, an amusement park, hotels, retail shopping, and a campground
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